All Your Life
by WolfeReid
Summary: He wanted someone to love him that didn't have to love him,he wanted someone that chose to love him. Spencer/O.C./
1. Unexpected

Spencer Reid never believed in love. He felt it wasn't a real emotion. It could be to other people, but to him, no one ever made him feel like it was real. Every day he went to work, did his job, went home and started the whole thing over again the next day. He watched people, couples kissing on his way to work, people so infatuated with each other. He secretly wished for that. He wished someone would look at him with loving eyes, that he would have someone to come home to.

It was a chilly February day in Virginia. It was getting closer and closer to Valentine's day. He was 25 and never really had anyone. Sure he had a mother and a father, but he wanted someone to love him that didn't have to love him. He wanted someone that choose to love him. He was smarter than the average person, but he still needed to be loved. He couldn't stand being so lonely. Spencer was secretly thankful that he was off from work that day. He loved going to public bookstores finding old books, going to the nearby coffee stores reading the books that he had purchased from the bookstores.

Spencer was walking down the street and went into one of his favorite book stores. It was warm in the store, nice and walked down the aisle to the psychology books. He started browsing books as he sipped on some coffee he had bought. Spencer spent hours browsing books. He could live in this bookstore. Books made him feel safe. He loved reading other peoples thoughts and their point of view on things.

Spencer had a collections of books under his arms and set them down on a desk. He pulled out a chair and took a seat. He flipped through book after book, easily finishing each one. Spencer would occasionally look up from his book,to look at the other people in the store. Spencer looked at his watch and realized he had been there for 7 hours. Spencer stretched and got up out of his chair. He put back the books he was reading and gathered his things. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. As he was looking at his phone he turned the corner of an aisle of books and he bumped into someone. He looked up, it was a girl. He had never seen her before, he always remembered a face.

"I'm sorry," He said.

"It's alright," she said back sweetly.

Spencer smiled and walked past her. He walked to the front door and walked out into the cold air. As he walked he looked back into the store through the window. He caught the girl looking at him. He blushed and looked back to the street.

He got home and was still in somewhat of a daze. He could remember how the girl smelled, like warm vanilla. He couldn't get her face out of his head. She wore black ray ban glasses, had greenish brown eyes, and was short she had to be no taller than 5'3. Spencer smiled at the thought of night he kept hoping that he would see her again, and soon.

The next morning Spencer woke with a smile on his face. His smile faded quickly as he realized he was alone in bed. He pushed back the covers of his bed and shuffled his way to his kitchen. He got a cup and poured himself some coffee. He took a sip and leaned against his counter. It was so quiet, so empty. _Was__it__always__like__this__? __Always__this__quiet__._ He thought to himself. He never really noticed. He was always running around, rushing and reading. Or he would have his t.v on for background noise. Spencer finished his coffee and placed his cup in the sink. He walked through the hallway to his room and began getting ready for work.

* * *

"Hey Reid," Spencer turned around and saw Garcia as he was walking into work.

"Hey Garcia," he said with a smile.

Garcia raised an eyebrow. "You seem to be in a good mood."

Spencer nodded. "Yeah, i guess i am," He got to his desk and put his bag down. He was hoping Garcia would have kept going but she didn' sat down in his desk chair. "May i help you?"

Garcia smiled with a grin. "Is it a girl?" She asked.

Spencer sighed. "No," he lied.

"Well, you know Valentine's day is coming up. Who is she?"

Spencer decided to give in. "I don't know, i ran into her literally at a bookstore i go to." Spencer could see the wheels turning in Garcia's head.

"I could look her up for you. Do you know anything about her?Do you remember what she looks like," Spencer gave her a ;_are__you__kidding__me_'look. "Right, of course you do, silly with me." She said and before Spencer could protest she grabbed him by the arm,pulled him out of his seat and dragged him to her lair.

Garcia sat down in front of her many computer monitors and pulled up the database she used to look up people. "Ok, what did she look like?" She asked.

" I don't want to stalk her..."

Garcia huffed. "No shit sherlock, but I can get information on her like things she likes, where she works and so on. This way you will be sure to run into her again. Now, what does she look like."

Spencer took a seat next to her and closed his eyes. "She has greenish-brown eyes, she must have been at least 120 pounds, about 5'3, had dark hair, wore glasses..." He trailed off and opened his eyes. Garcia was typing away at the keyboard of her computer.

"Ok," she said as she pulled up 10 different girls. "Which one is she."

Spencer knew which one she was the second Garcia opened the window. "That's her," he said as he pointed to the fourth girl on the top row. Garcia brought up the girls info.

"Ok, Her name is Amber, she is 21, she works at a local book store..."

"Which one?"

"Uhhh,Turn the page."

"I was there last night...I've never seen her there before."

"Well, it's probably because she just started working there. She doesn't seem to have a boyfriend, why don't you make your move?"

Spencer smiled, " Don't worry,I will Garcia." He shot out of the chair and ran out the door, leaving Garcia speechless, and satisfied by her work.

**A/N- i was going to make this the sequel to 'you lie' but i felt like it should be it's own story. I would have written more but i have a speech to write and present on tuesday...and i've barley started it. Ooops XD **


	2. Can it be?

_Well, I don't want the whole world_

_The sun and moon and all their light_

_I just want to be the only girl, You love all your life_

_You love all your life_

_-The Band Perry_

* * *

Spencer made his way down the street to the bookstore. He was so busy rushing to get there he knocked over someone.

"I am so sorry," He said as he helped the girl up.

"It's alright," She said as she stood up.

Spencer smiled. "Amber?" He asked.

"Yeah, do I know you?"

"I'm Spencer. Yesterday I was at the bookstore."

Amber got a huge grin on her face. "Oh yeah, you ran into me. That seems to be your way to say hello."

Spencer chuckled. "Not usually, that seems to be reserved just for you," She smiled at him. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. She was cute and beautiful at the same time. "How about I buy you a coffee, to make it up to you."

"You don't have to be sorry, saying hello to me. It's just the way you say it."

"Yeah, but I still want to make it up to you." Spencer said as he started walking to the coffee shop a few stores down. Amber shrugged and followed him. She could never pass up a free cup of coffee.

Spencer and Amber were sitting at a table in the coffee shop, Spencer had just gone on one of his rants. He was talking about coffee. Amber was sitting there staring at him,but her eyes were not glazed over like many people Spencer would rant to.

"Sorry," He said.

Amber was confused. "Sorry? For what?"

"Rambling, I tend to do that alot."

Amber smiled with adoration and placed her hand on his. "It's alright Spence, I love it."

"You do?" he asked in a shocked tone.

She nodded. " I love that you have something to say. I can't stand it when people tell me the same boring stuff over and over again." Amber took her hand off of his and sat back in her chair.

"Well, that's great. I have an eidetic memory."

Amber was impressed. "Wow, that's amazing. So you must be very smart."

"I have an I.Q of 187."

"Damn," Amber said. "I don't even know my I.Q."

Spencer chuckled. "That's ok. Not many people do."

Hours had passed and the two were on their 3rd cup of coffee, sitting and talking. Spencer was really beginning to like this girl. She was funny, smart, pretty and made his knees weak.

"I think I've had too much coffee."Spencer stated.

Amber laughed. "What makes you say that?"

"My hands are shaky, my heart is racing, my palms are sweaty..."Spencer trailed off.

Amber smirked. "Did you ever think it's not the coffee."

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? And what else do you suggest it could be?"

Amber grinned. "Well, from me."

Spencer blushed and started to play with his fingers. "How can you be so sure?"

Amber thought for a minute, then said, "Because, I know you ran into me to come back to find me. Why else would we be here now? I'll answer that, because you like me."

Spencer looked up at her and laughed. "Maybe, but I'll never tell you."

"Oh, fiesty are we?" Amber chuckled.

Spencer chuckled along. He looked at his watch and realized it was late...really late,he had taken almost a two hour lunch. " I should probably get going," He said as he began to stand up. "We should do this again, real soon."

Amber stood up from her seat and looked up at him. She placed a hand on his cheek and gently stroked it. She smiled at him and said, "Yes, we should."

"How about tomorrow?" Spencer asked.

"That would be perfect." Amber answered as she took her hand off his face. He watched her as she grabbed her belongings and started to head towards the door.

"Wait," Spencer said as he watched her pause. "Where do you want to meet?"

"Here, at 5pm," She answered. Spencer nodded and watched her continue to head towards the door. Just before she opened the door she turned to him and smiled. "Goodbye Spence."

Spencer couldn't answer, his throat was dry, so he smiled at her.

Spencer walked into the meeting room of the BAU. He could feel everyone's stares as he sat down.

"Where were you Reid?" Rossi asked.

Garcia was grinning ear to ear. "I know where he was."

Spencer sat down and cleared his throat. "I was seeing a girl."

Everyone's jaw dropped, except for Garcia's. "Alright my man!" Derek said, who was sitting next to him. He gave Spencer a firm pat on the back. "Are you going to see her again?"

Spencer nodded. "Yeah...we are going to see each other tomorrow."

Garcia let out a squeal, and everyone stared at her. "Sorry, I'm just happy that our little Spence finally has someone,or will have someone." The whole group chuckled at her excitement.

Spencer smiled. "Thanks, anyways, that's why I was late."

Rossi and Hotch stared at each other, they were happy for him as well, but this was work he was missing . "Alright, just don't let it happen again." Rossi said.

* * *

**A/N-Thanks for the reviews! :D**


	3. Spencer's notebook(doodles)

If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a damn if she's late? Nobody. -**J. D. Salinger**

Spencer couldn't move his feet. He didn't want to get on the BAU jet and look at dead bodies. He was tired. He wanted to see Amber. He couldn't stop thinking about her. The cold Virginia air hit his face,making his cheeks rosy and his nose as red as a cherry. He tightened the scarf around his neck and rubbed his palms together to warm up his hands. His heavy feet stomped up the stairs of the jet, he took a seat near a window and gazed out it.

"Reid, I haven't met this girl but for someone to make you look that sad must be some girl." Morgan said to Spencer as he sat down across from him.

Reid sighed. "There is just something about her. She gets me. She has secrets woven into her long dark brown hair. I want to unravel those secrets. I see diamonds in her eyes, they sparkle like stars in the sky." Reid shifted in his seat and leaned in towards more than a table between them. Morgan had never heard Reid talk like this. It was always statistics and facts Reid was talking from his heart, not his head.

"Well,I know this is new to you but you have to take it slow."

Reid looked confused. "Take it slow?"

Morgan nodded. "You have to play it cool. Have the girl come to you. Trust me, they love the chase."

Spencer wasn't convinced. " I don't think that actually works."

"He's right," J.J said as she sat down next to Reid. "Women want to be loved, not played."

"When am I ever wrong?" Reid questioned.

J.J smiled sympathetically at Reid. "Usually when it comes to girls Spence."

The team got off the jet and headed to the local police department. Spencer still could not stop thinking about Amber. Spencer needed to grow up. He eventually wanted to have a wife and kids, and he wasn't getting any younger. He had this nagging feeling tugging at his heart lately, like it was telling him to fall in love already. Sure, Amber wasn't a genius like him, but maybe he would learn even more from her that way.

The team met with the local P.D and decided to split up. Reid and Prentiss stayed back at P.D to figure out the Unsubs location. Hotch, Rossi and Morgan went to the crime scene and J.J was taking care of the press.

Reid was standing at the board that had the evidence and a map tacked to it. Prentiss was at the table sipping coffee and looking over police and autopsy reports.

"Hey, where are the rest of the reports?" Prentiss asked as she shuffled through all of the folders she had, she knew there were a few more.

"Under my notebook," Reid said without moving a muscle.

Prentiss nodded and got up out of her chair to grab the reports. She tried grabbing them without moving Spencers notebook. But the notebook slipped off the reports and landed open on the ground. Prentiss held her breath, hoping Spencer didn't hear that. Spencer was too enveloped in his thoughts and didn't hear it. Prentiss let out a smooth breath and picked up the notebook. She saw that Spencer had doodled Amber's name in it with hearts and some math Prentiss didn't want to understand. Prentiss was shocked,giddy and overjoyed that Spencer had finally become a kid. She had a theory that he skipped right over being a kid and a teenager to being an adult. He went to college when he was eleven, he already had so many PHDs and he was never really crazy about girls. Not like Morgan, well no one was like Morgan when it came to girls. But Prentiss had seen her share of guys in high school gush over other girls. She knew Reid never went through that. He was all books and brains but no heart. Not that she thought he was heartless, no sir. It was just that he never really talked about girls or even looked at them in a way of desire.

Prentiss neatly closed the notebook and put it back on the table. She walked back to her seat and sat down. She placed the reports on top of the others, grabbed her coffee and put it to her lips as she did so a smiled crossed them and out of the corner of her eyes she was looking at Reid. He was clueless when it came to girls, but Prentiss knew this girl was different.

Love can sometimes be magic.

But magic can sometimes... just be an illusion.-Javan

A/N-Hey! Sorry this took soooo long! I've been busy with trying to figure out my major and getting signed up for my classes. And i am also sorry because I have no idea why this is so tiny.. stupid google docs.


	4. Keeping you close

I was about half in love with her by the time we sat down. That's the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty... you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are. -J. D. Salinger

* * *

Spencer and the team got back the next day to quantico. Spencer walked into the building and made his way to the floor of the BAU. He arrived at his desk and gathered his things.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Morgan said.

" I'm going to go meet her today at the cafe down the street. "

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? What are you two going to do?"

Spencer was putting a book in his tan messenger bag and he stopped to think. "I'm not sure. Just talk I guess," he said as he continued to put away his things.

"Well if you want my opinion..."

"Not really," Spencer cut him off

Morgan glared at him with squinted eyes. "Let me finish pretty you want my opinion, take her somewhere dinner and dancing."

Spencer's eyes got big. "Dancing?" He swallowed.

"Spencer you do know how to dance right?" J.J said.

"Were you eavesdropping?" Spencer asked.

J.J thought for a second. "No,no. I overheard you. It's not that hard. Plus I've seen you dance before. Just do slow way you won't embarrass yourself."

"And pull out her chair for her," Garcia said. Spencer didn't realize but almost all of his team was standing around his desk,everyone but Hotch. That was fine with him. "and don't bore her with your facts and statistics."

Spencer stood up from his chair and fixed his bag on his shoulder. "I won't." He said with a smirk.

"What was that?"

"What?"

"That smirk. Don't think I didn't see that Reid." Garcia said.

"I'm not sure what you are talking about."Spencer said as he brushed past her.

Spencer made his way to the cafe on foot. He enjoyed walking much more than driving. He only drove if his destination was far away, or for work. He had his hands stuffed into his pockets as the cold Virginia air hit his face. Spencer dodged into cafe, the smell of coffee and cinnamon rolls filled the air. The fire in the fireplace was going, keeping the whole cafe warm and inviting. Spencer was putting his coat on the coat hanger and he caught a glimpse of her. Spencer took a deep breath and walked over to her. She was sitting near the fireplace, at table against wall and sipping on something.

"Hey," Spencer said. She looked up at him and she beamed.

"Hey Spencer," she cooed. She started to stand up but Spencer told her there was no need to stand just for him. Keeping in mind what Garcia said about having to pull out her chair for her. Spencer sat across from her. He collected her beauty, he drank it in as if it was water. "how was work?" Amber asked.

"It was alright, same old thing every time," Spencer said. "how was your day?"

"Pretty good. I went to work, went to my evening classes then came here. So, I can't really complain." Amber answered, but still looked upset.

" What's wrong?" Spencer asked.

Amber sighed. "I can't afford my rent. With classes, car payments and groceries.I just can't work enough to pay for it."

Spencer thought for a moment, and an idea struck. "Why don't you move in with me?"

Amber's jaw dropped. "We barely know each other."

"I know, but I'm barely ever home and when I am it's pretty lonely. I uh...hate to admit this, but I already did a background check on you..."

Amber laughed. " Really? Find anything good?"

"Hmm...just that you are 21, your parent's have been married for almost 32 years now, you have a brother, your criminal record is clean, and you don't have a boyfriend."

"Wow, being in the FBI comes in handy doesn't it?" She smirked.

Spencer chuckled. "Yeah, for the most part."

"Well, I did some research on you too," Amber said as Spencer raised an eyebrow. " I found so many articles and thesis papers. I read some of them for the most part. They were all very interesting."

"Did you understand any of them?"

"Well, I'm taking a Psychology class right now, so I understood the Psychology ones."

Spencer nodded. " What are you getting in that class?"

Amber bit her lip and answered, "I'm not obligated to say."

"Come on, tell me." Spencer said with a chuckle.

"A 67 percent. I got a C on my last celebration though."

"Celebration?"

Amber sighed, "My teacher calls them that. They are tests. You would think she'd know better since she has a PHD in psychology. She can't condition us, it's too late, we already know it's a test."

Spencer laughed. "Well, I can always help you. What about your other classes?"

"In math...I think a 58? As for english im pretty sure im getting a B, but we did just take a maybe B+? And for my survey of rock and roll...no idea."

Spencer was sitting there mouth agape, " Don't they post the grades online or at least tell you?'

Amber shook her head no. " They don't make any sense."

Spencer sat back in his chair. " Well at least your english grade is good. What are you majoring in?"

"Well I'm getting my Associates degree of Arts then I want to go on to a 4 year college for liberal arts," Amber warmly smiled at Spencer,he was attentively listening to her every word. " I want to become a writer, but I'm not sure I'm good enough."

"Well, my team member,David Rossi has written some books, maybe he could teach you a few things," Spencer said as the barista brought him his coffee, he thanked her and she walked back to the coffee machine. Once the barista was gone,Amber quietly chuckled to herself. Spencer was confused by her reaction. "what?"

"Why are you doing all of this for me? Asking me to move in, telling me you'll help me with my classes and having your friend help me write a book."

"Because, I can see you have so much potential. If you move in; you can focus on school, I can help you with your classes, and..." Spencer drifted off, afraid to say what he wanted to say next. "then I can get to know you better."

Amber smiled at him, got up out of her seat and quickly kissed him on the cheek. She sat back down and saw that Spencer was grinning ear to ear. The two spent the rest of the night sipping coffee and talking until the shop closed. The two walked out of the shop as the workers closed the doors behind them. The cold Virginia air hit their faces,causing them to shiver. They started to walk to Amber's apartment, a few blocks down. Amber had her arm locked around Spencer's forearm, she held it tight to her chest. It was very dark out this night, and Amber was glad Spencer had offered to walk her home. The two got to her building, Amber unlocked the front door and walked up to her they reached her floor, they walked down the hall to her apartment door.

"Thanks for walking me home," Amber said.

"It was my pleasure," Spencer replied.

Amber got on her tippy toes and gave Spencer a good night kiss on the cheek. " It's much easier kissing you when you're sitting down," She said as she went to her regular height.

"Sorry," Spencer said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Night." He whispered in her ear after the kiss.

"Night." She whispered as she unlocked her door and stepped inside her apartment. She turned around to face the hallway but Spencer had already left. She smiled to herself as she leaned against the door. _That man is something else. _She thought as she quietly shut the door.

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.-H. L. Mencken

* * *

**A/N**- Sorry this took soooo long. I started this on the 9th and have had major writers block. I've also been sooo busy with my classes and with work. . And i actually am in a psychology class right now. I get to watch 4 episodes of any show or movie (I picked criminal minds,duh!) and write about how it connects to a theme in our book (for extra credit). I did one on The instincts and the theme was Dreams. I'm actually pretty proud of it even though it was only for 5 extra points.

Hope everyone is having a good break! I already had mine in the beginning of march( which makes no sense.),but if you're like me and already had yours i hope you had a good one! XD


	5. Don't let me be lonely

**A/N- I pretty much used this chapter as a way to get myself to study for my Psychology test, but hey it worked! I tricked my self into studying. hehe. :P Hope you guys like it!**

* * *

_Well there's nothing to hide and nothing to prove_

_Give me all that you are_

_You've got nothing to lose_

_Just don't let me be lonely_

_No don't let me be lonely_

_-_Don't let me be lonely by The Band Perr_y_

* * *

A man is already halfway in love with any woman who listens to him.-Brendan Francis

* * *

The next morning Amber woke to her phone ringing. She looked at her clock, it was 7 O'clock am. She grumbled as she grabbed her phone to see who was calling her or sending her a text. It was Spencer calling her. She really wanted to go back to sleep, she had a late night shift the night before and before that was in class all day and just wanted to catch a few more Z's. She pressed the talk button on her phone and answered.

"Hello?" She said in a groggy voice.

"Morning Amber," Spencer said on the other end of the line.

"What's up?" Amber asked as she laid back down, the phone pressed to her ear, but her eyes closed.

"Well, I'm off today, I was wondering if we could hang out, get some coffee or something." Spencer quickly said on the other line.

Amber thought for a moment. It was her free day, she only got two days like this. Did she want to put on jeans and a shirt or stay in her sweats? "How about you come over here to my place and help me with my homework?"

"Alright, I can do that. I'll bring you coffee."

Amber smiled. "That sounds great."

"I'll see you in a bit." Amber heard the line go dead and placed her phone on her nightstand. She laid in bed a few minutes longer and then got up and got ready.

Once Spencer hung up the phone with Amber, he was rushing around to get ready. He put on a button up shirt,a black tie, a nice navy blue vest and a grey cardigan. He attempted brushing his hair and after a few minutes gave up. He grabbed his things and headed out the door of his apartment. He left his apartment building, hopped in his 65' Volo and drove to the coffee shop.

Once in the coffee shop he got in line to order. The girl in front of him had bright blonde hair and was wearing crazy clothes. This could be only one person.

"Garcia?" He asked.

The girl turned around and it was got a huge smile on her face. "Reid!" She automatically hugged him without thinking. She pulled away from him and asked, "what are you doing here this early?"

"Getting coffee for me...and a friend." Spencer said, avoiding eye contact.

Garcia's eyes lit up and gasped. "Is it Amber?" Spencer nodded and received another hug from Garcia. "what are you two going to do?" She asked as the line started moving.

"I'm going to help her with her homework,"

Garcia looked blankly at him. "Seriously? Reid, take her on a REAL DATE," She practically yelled, causing almost the whole coffee shop to look at them. After a moment, the everyone in the shop got back to what they were doing and Garcia then quietly said, "take her out. Go see a movie, go to a museum, anything. She is going to end up being disappointed."

"Actually, she was the one that suggested it," Spencer said as he motioned for Garcia to move forward.

"Oh," She replied slowly as she turned around to face the front of the line. Garcia really didn't know what to say. She wanted Spencer to have a girlfriend, but it seemed like what he was doing was working. They stayed silent and reached the front of the line. Garcia ordered her coffee and after she paid she told Spencer goodbye and to tell her what happens afterward. Spencer got to the cashier and ordered himself a coffee with sugar and a pumpkin spice coffee for Amber. He paid, waited for them to finish the coffees and headed to Amber's.

Spencer got to Amber's 20 minutes later and knocked on the door. Seconds later, Amber open the door and smiled brightly at him. She was wearing a hoodie, a pair of slim fit sweats and some slippers. Her hair was up in a messy bun, she had some mascara on, some lip balm and was wearing her big black framed Ray bans. Spencer knew she had contacts, but she never wore them because of her naturally long nails, she always ended up ripping them. Pretty much how she always looked, but wearing sweats instead of jeans. She still looked great to Spencer. Amber knew that, and that's why she liked him so much.

"Hello," Amber said as her eyes sparkled. Spencer wasn't sure if it was because of him, or the coffee. Amber gestured him to come in, he stepped into the apartment. It wasn't the best looking apartment, but not the worst. It was very tiny, but very warm and had books scattered everywhere around the apartment. And a lot of notebooks. Spencer set the coffee on coffee table in the living room as he heard Amber close the door. Spencer grabbed his cup and sat down on the couch. Amber walked over to the coffee table and grabbed her coffee from the coffee tray. She sipped it and started to glow.

"I love that you can remember pretty much everything I say." she said happily as she sat down next to Spencer on the couch. She took another sip of coffee and then set the cup down. She reached for her psychology book and opened it. "right now we are learning about sexuality and gender. That's all pretty easy. I just have a hard time remembering all the information, no matter how many times I go over it. I mean I have ADD but that isn't an excuse, I can't let it hover over me. I just have to work harder." Amber mumbled on,she looked out of the corner of her eye and saw that Spencer was right next to her, her knee touching his. She could hear him slowly breathing, his breath on the nape of her neck. It sent chills up and down her spine.

Amber looked up at him and his face was pretty close to hers. Spencer couldn't stop looking at her. He was attracted to her, he knew that, but he knew she had dealt with guys before trying to 'get in her pants too fast' as she put it and she hated that. She had told him that she wanted to have a relationship with a guy, really get to know him, and if the time was right would make love with the guy. Spencer agreed with her, that it makes relationships stronger to wait. That it helped a relationship emotionally and psychologically. But then why did he feel this way? He wanted to grab her and kiss her. He knew he couldn't though. It was still too soon. He wanted to take it slow, for his sake and for Amber's.

Spencer snapped back to reality and asked Amber, "Do you have a test on this?"

Amber was silent for a while, then said "Yeah, on Monday,"

"Over what?"

"Motivation and emotion, Lifespan development, Gender and sexuality, and Personality."

"Well, let's get to it then." Spencer said after he took a sip of coffee.

It was about 12 o'clock in the afternoon when Amber stopped and dramatically said, " I can't study anymore..."

Spencer laughed. "You have to."

"I'm going to fail." Amber mumbled into her hands.

Spencer gasped. "Don't say that!" He pulled her hands away from her face. She was pouting, she looked frustrated and like she was about to cry. Spencer's heart sank. He knew it wasn't easy for her. Not everyone was like him, having an eidetic memory, having an I.Q of 187, and having many PH Ds by twenty-two. Spencer sighed. "Amber, come on. I know you can do this."

Amber thought for a moment and then replied, " Can we take a break?"

Spencer nodded, " Of course." Amber got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. Spencer sat back against the couch and shivered.

"Are you cold?" He heard Amber ask from the kitchen.

"Yeah, a little."

"I'll turn up the heat."

Spencer almost forgot about how he asked her to move in with him. "So, did you think about my offer?" Spencer said, not knowing any other way to put it. He listened as she shuffled around the kitchen.

"Um...yeah I have. I'm still shocked by it though."

Spencer chuckled. "Why?"

"Want some water? Or something?"

She was avoiding the question, that was never good. " Um sure, I'll have some water." Moments later Amber walked over to the couch and set down two glasses of water.

Amber plopped down on the couch and said, " I just...don't you think it's a bit...sudden?"

"Well, I mean we wouldn't be like...boyfriend and girlfriend...well right now at least...not that I want to move that fast...I just...want you to have somewhere nice to stay...so you can focus on school." He was finding it hard to find the right words. He knew didn't want to upset her.

" I want to see your place." Amber blurted out.

Spencer smiled. "Alright, let's go now," Amber got up off the couch to leave but Spencer stopped her. "bring your books, you can study there." Amber glared at him as she picked up her books. Amber slipped off her slipper and put on some sneakers. She grabbed her apartment keys and cell phone.

"Ready?" Spencer asked. Amber nodded and headed out the door. Spencer shut the door behind him. Amber struggled to lock the door with so many books in her hand. "need some help?" He offered.

Amber shook her head. "No...I think I've got it." She suddenly lost her strength,causing her to drop all of her books that she was trying to maintain to hold in one arm. She moaned as she started kneeling over to pick them up, but Spencer was always picking them up and scooping them in his arms by the time she did. "thanks," she said as she got back up and locked the door. The two headed out of the hallway to the elevator. Once inside Amber pressed the elevator button to LOBBY and the doors closed. They walked out to Spencer's car that was parked on the street. "here, I'll take these." Amber said as she took her textbooks from Spencer. He opened the passenger door for her, she thanked him and got in the car. Spencer shut the door once she was in and walked over to the driver's side. He got in, started the engine and they were off.

Spencer pulled his car in front of apartment building, Amber was impressed, it looked like a nice building. Spencer cut the engine and got out of the car. He walked over to the passenger side and opened the door. Amber stepped out of the car with a tight grip on her textbooks. Spencer slammed the door to the lobby door and held it open for Amber. She thanked him as she walked up the steps to the second floor.

"Right here," Spencer said from behind Amber. She turned around, seeing that she had walked too far. Spencer unlocked the door and gestured Amber to go in first. She smiled as she walked in. It was a small apartment, but way bigger than hers. It had dark green walls, a few bookshelves filled to the brim with books, a leather couch, a chess table and some leather chairs to match the couch.

"Wow, this is nice."

Spencer smiled to himself as he shut and locked the door. "Thanks,"

"It's so much bigger than my apartment."

"Can you now see why it gets lonely?"

"Yeah," Amber said sadly as she set her textbooks on the coffee table.

Spencer's genius brain hatched a new idea. "How about, instead of calling it 'moving in' how about we call it 'apartment sitting'?" He said trying to make it sound less scary.

Amber grinned, " How is that any better, I would still be here when you're here."

"Well, I never know when I have a case. So, it's like an around the clock title, whether i'm here, or not."

Amber pursed her lips together. "I don't know."

"Please," Spencer begged. "don't let me be lonely. I usually like being alone, but I am growing up and I just need some company, especially here."Spencer was now standing closer to her than he was a moment ago.

Amber hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said, "Alright,"

Spencer perked up. "Really?"

Amber nodded. "Yeah,"

Spencer didn't know if he should hug her or what so she just smiled and said, "Good, I'm glad." He walked over to her and gave her a quick hug. He pulled away from her and sat down on the couch. He patted the seat next to him. "come on, you have some studying to do."

Amber groaned. "Is it always going to be like this? Is this what I'm getting into?" She said with a smirk.

"Yeah, but it's too late to back out now." Spencer said as he grabbed her Psychology book and opened it to where they left off.

"Thank you," Amber said shyly as she sat down next to Spencer.

Spencer raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For letting me apartment sit for you, I'll be so much happier and not so stressed out."

Spencer smiled at her, his heart was pounding in his chest;he was happy and yet nervous about the whole thing. "It's no problem. I'm just happy that you said you would, i almost thought you were going to decline there for a second."

"Well, you had many good reasons as to why I should mov-I mean, apartment sit, so how could I pass up the opportunity?" Amber said as she looked at the book open on Spencer's lap.

Spencer chuckled a bit then asked "Which part of the personality chapter should we go over?"

"Hmm...Freud." Amber said, as she waited for Spencer's knowledge about the man to flow out of his mouth, like a symphony of music.

"In 1900,Freud published what many consider his most important work, _The interpretation of dreams._ A lot of his work was controversial though. I personally prefer Jung more, when it comes to dreams. Freud has been discredited, but Jung still has his merits. When it comes to personality, many of Freud's theories had intrigued Jung and the two started to correspond. Jung didn't believe that human behavior is fueled by sex and aggression. Jung believed that instead people are motivated by a more general psychological energy that motivates them to achieve psychological growth, self-realization, and harmony..." Spencer rambled on, he wasn't even looking at the book, just at her.

"Jung came up with collective unconscious and archetypes right?" Amber cut in.

"Yes! There are two important archetypes...do you know what they are?"

"Anima is when every man has a feminine side and animus is when every woman has a masculine side."

"Yes, Jung's theories were never has influential as Freuds, but his have a wide acceptance. What are the two basic personality types?" Spencer asked, he set down the book on the coffee table, seeing as he didn't really need it.

"Introverts, people who focus their attention inward and extraverts who turn their attention and energy outside. " Amber said very fast.

Spencer smiled. "Yup, that's right."

Amber smile back, "Yay, I'm finally getting it." She said as she adjusted her sitting position. She had her legs in the pretzel position and was facing Spencer.

Spencer chuckled as he pushed his glasses further up his nose with his index finger. "I knew you could do it." He said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

Amber put her hand on top of his. "Thanks," She said as they both stared into one another's eyes. Spencer took in a deep breath and looked away. Amber took her hand off his as he quickly took his hand off her shoulder.

Spencer cleared his throat and said "No problem, now, where were we?"

* * *

Sometimes it's a form of love just to talk to somebody that you have nothing in common with and still be fascinated by their presence.-David Byrne


	6. I saw a light

_I still can't believe someone left you laying around_

_Something precious like you should have already been found..._

_What if I'd stayed home and done nothing tonight_

_What if you had looked left and I had looked right_

_For once in our lives we were both on time_

_And now I found you_

_I saw a light_

_I heard a bell_

_You were the very best feeling that I ever felt_

_And suddenly you are standing here, mine all mine_

_I saw a light_

_I saw a light_

-I saw a light by The Band Perry

* * *

Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life.-Leo Buscaglia

* * *

Spencer awoke the next morning to his cell phone looked around and realized he had fallen asleep on the couch. Amber's books were still skewed across his coffee table and he could hear someone rummaging around in his kitchen. Spencer rubbed his eyes in an attempt to get the sleep out of his eyes. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and realized J.J texted him.

_Case: Three twenty year olds missing in Quantico. Be here by 7. _

_-J.J_

It was 5:35 in the morning Spencer noted to himself, as he got up from the couch and stretched.

"Amber?" He asked.

"Yeah?" She said slowly from behind the kitchen door.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he texted J.J back that he would be there soon.

Amber walked out behind the door and was carrying two plates of big pancakes. "I was making breakfast." She said in a perky voice.

Amber handed a plate to Spencer. "Thanks," he said as he took the plate. He had a puzzled look on his face. "you made these? In _my_ kitchen?"

Amber nodded as she sat down in a chair. "I had to go pick a few things up;milk and eggs."

"I have milk and eggs," He stated as he sat down on the couch, plate on his lap.

"They were old, they expired 4 weeks ago." Amber said as she dug into her breakfast.

Spencer crinkled up his nose. "Ah, I did not know that." He cut off a piece of pancake and stuck his fork in it. He put the food in his mouth and chewed. "wow," he said, mouth still full of food. "these are pretty good."

Amber smiled, "Thanks."

"I was thinking," Spencer said as he continued to eat his breakfast, "I have work today. I have a case here in Quantico, so I'll be back later tonight. Why don't you stay the day to give this a test run?"

Amber thought for a moment as she stood up with her empty plate. "Alright," she answered with a smile. "I can clean this place up a bit." She continued as to walk into the kitchen. She was gone for a few seconds then appeared again.

"How long were we up last night?" Spencer asked before shoveling food into his mouth

"Hmmm...until about 12. We watched T.V ten and then fell asleep. I ended waking up at five," She sat down next to Spencer on the couch. "I feel bad that I didn't ask to leave sooner, you know, before we fell asleep."

"It's alright," he said as he finished his plate. "it was nice." he said with a smile.

"Here, I'll take that," Amber offered as she took his plate from him. "you go get ready for work."

Spencer stood up from the couch as he watched Amber walk into the kitchen. He shuffled to his room and picked out some clothes. He decided on a button up shirt, tie,dark khaki pants and a cardigan. He quickly washed his face, brushed his teeth and tried to brush his hair. Once he finished he was back in the living room with his messanger bag hanging over his shoulder. He was frantically looking for something, Amber had noticed this once she had gotten back into the room a few moments earlier. She started following him around the room, trying to pick up everything he had tossed.

"Spence,what are you looking for?" She asked as she put the pillows back on the couch.

"My phone and keys," Spencer said as he was tearing apart the living room. Amber tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and there they were in her hands. "where did you find them?" he asked.

"On the coffee table." she said as he grabbed them.

"Oh, I didn't look there..." Spencer said as he lightly chuckled, hoping Amber would think it was funny too.

"Hmmm...yeah I noticed." Amber said. Spencer quickly kissed her cheek, hoping that would make up for cheeks started to turn a light red. "just go to work."

Spencer nodded and quickly headed out of the apartment. "See you later!" he said as he closed the door behind him.

Amber shook her head. "What do I see in that brainy goofball?" she asked herself out loud.

* * *

Spencer headed out the front door of the building and to his car. He unlocked his car, hopped in and headed off to work. Once he got there he parked and quickly ran into the building. He got in the elevator and pushed the button that the BAU was on. Once the doors opened on his floor, he bolted out and made his way to his desk. Only Rossi and Morgan were at their desks, he assumed J.J was running around, getting everything together.

"Good morning, pretty boy," Morgan greeted.

"Morning," Spencer replied as he set his bag on his desk.

"So, what did you do last night?"

Spencer's stomach dropped. If Garcia told Morgan about Amber,he would never hear the end of it. "Um...nothing. Just read, caught up on Dr. Who," Spencer smirked. "the usual. What about you? Did you do anything special?" Spencer asked as he sat down at his desk.

"Nope, same old same old." Morgan replied.

Just then,what seemed like out of nowhere, Garcia appeared next to them. "Reid, can I talk to you?" She asked, trying to hide her excitement.

"Sure," He said as he slowly got up out of his chair. Spencer followed Garcia to her lair. She shut the door and squealed really loud. "ow," Spencer said as he put a hand to his ear.

"Okay, what happened? You have to tell me everything. Cause you know one way or another I will find out." She said very quickly. He was glad he had not yet taken his hand off his ear,since she was chatting it off.

Spencer sighed as he took his hand off his ear and sat down on the couch. "Everything?" he moaned. She nodded excitedly as she sat down next to him. "well, I got her coffee, headed to her place, we stayed there for a few hours and I helped her study. Then she wanted to see my place..."

"Oh, Reid," Garcia gasped. " I didn't know you that kind of guy." She nudged him with her elbow.

Spencer ignored her and continued. "so we got back to my place, I helped her study some more and she ended up sleeping over."

"Did you guys do anything?" Garcia asked with a wink.

"No, it's not like that." Spencer stated.

Spencer looked over at her,she was pouting and looked disappointed. "Well, that can't be it!" She exclaimed at him.

Spencer nodded. "It is." he said as he got up off the couch.

"But...but...you have no feelings for her?" Garcia said, trying rack her brain to figure out something else he wasn't telling her.

"Nope, not at all." He said flatly, Garcia knew he was was glaring at him.

"But when I saw you yesterday, you looked so happy and giddy." Garcia said as she stood up. Spencer just stood there and shrugged. "did she end up not liking you? Or was she using you? I swear, if i find out that she was using you, I'm going to break that little..."

Spencer cut her off, "She wasn't using me. It's nothing like that...look it's complicated. I just don't want to share anything about it right now. I don't want to get ahead of myself." Spencer explained.

Garcia sighed. "Alright, I just want you to be happy."

Spencer smiled warmly at her. "I know. I just need to take it at my own pace. I'll tell you, and the rest of the team, when I'm ready."

Garcia nodded. "Ok Reid," Garcia thought for a moment. "I really shouldn't have gotten into your business."

"It's okay, you were the one that looked her up for me in the first place." Spencer said with smirk as he patted her shoulder.

A smile crept upon Garcia's lips. "That's very true," Garcia agreed as she turned on her heels and opened her door. "come on, we don't want to be late. J.J will have our heads."

* * *

Back at Spencer's apartment, Amber had cleaned up the place; books back on the bookshelves, pillows in the right spot, his bed was made, bathroom was sparkly clean and Amber had done some grocery shopping. She had bought Spencer plenty of coffee to last him through an Apocalypse. Okay, so not _that _much, but it was close.

Amber plopped down on the couch and grabbed her psychology book off the coffee table. She opened up the book to the personality chapter. She started reading, but out of nowhere there was a knock on the door. Amber groaned as she set her book back on the coffee table.

"If I could get any studying done,it would be a miracle." Amber mumbled to herself as she opened the door. It was a blonde girl,no more than 30 years was wearing crazy glasses, makeup and clothes to match. "may I help you?" Amber asked slowly.

She had a big smile on her face. "Your Amber right?" she asked through her huge grin.

"Yeah, why?" Amber asked, curious as to how she knew her name

"I'm Penelope Garcia," she said as she held out a hand.

Amber reached over, shook it and nodded slowly, it was all coming together. "Ah, you're the tech analyst at the BAU."

"That is correct. May I come in?" She asked.

"Sure," Amber said as she let her in. Amber shut the door once Penelope was in Spencer's apartment.

"So, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Amber gulped. "Um...I'm house sitting..." Amber said, but it sounded more like she was asking Garcia,not telling her.

"House sitting?" Garcia asked, trying not to laugh.

"How did you know I was here?" Amber asked as she folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes.

"I picked up a phone signal here, and I didn't recognize the number. But when I went through Spencer's recent calls, it was the same number." Garcia said as she leaned against Spencer's couch.

"How did you know my name?" Amber asked.

Garcia hesitated. "Well, when Spencer ran into you the first time, he wanted to find out who you were, so...we kinda...sorta looked you up."

"Oh...that's lovely." Amber snorted.

"Reid really likes you," Garcia blurted out.

Amber perked up. "He does?"

Garcia nodded. "One of our other S.S.A's found a notebook of his with your name written all over a few pages."

"I mean, I knew he liked me...but..." Amber trailed off. She thought for a moment, then said, "I've only known him for like...what...a week?"

"Author Leo Buscaglia once wrote, 'Don't brood. Get on with living and loving. You don't have forever.' I think Reid realized that." Garcia shook her head at the thought, "I have waited and waited for that boy to find someone." she said as she looked at the floor.

"But why me?" Amber asked sadly.

Garcia looked up at her. "Oh sweetie," she said as she tilted her head to the side. "he sees something in you."

Amber shook her head in disbelief as she walked over to the couch and sat down. Amber huffed as she asked, "What though?" Garcia joined her on the couch. "I am nothing compared to him."

"Well, I think that's why he likes you. He's around people that challenge him all day, make him fight for others, and he looks at himself and realizes he...he doesn't have anyone," Garcia said. Amber sat there, Garcia's words didn't help. So she thought for a moment, then said, "Do you read?" Amber nodded. "you're going for your liberal arts degree right?" Garcia asked, Amber nodded again. "well, there you go. He can help you with things like psychology and math, but when it comes to english, you don't need help."

Amber let this sink in and after a few moments said, "So, he likes me because he can help me? But somethings I help him with," Amber paused for a moment, "like cleaning his apartment?" she said with a light giggle.

Garcia giggled along with her. "Yup, I think you help him realize it's okay to slow down sometimes and enjoy everything. You balance each other out."

"Yin and Yang."

"Yes, exactly," Garcia said, then got up from the couch. "I better go before he and the team realize I'm gone," Garcia headed for the door, Amber was right behind her. Garcia opened the door and turned to Amber. "oh, and I was never here. Got it?" she said firmly.

Amber nodded once. "Got it. I was never here either."

Garcia nodded and closed the door behind her. Amber walked back over to the couch. "My life is never going to be normal again." she said out loud, shaking her head and she sat down.

* * *

Hours of studying and countless cups of coffee later, Amber decided to take a break. She grabbed her phone. She had 5 texts, all from Spencer.

From:Spencer

Time:8:00am

_How is everything?_

From:Spencer

Time:8:32am

_I hope you're studying. _

From:Spencer

Time: 9:38 am

_I hope that because you are not answering, that you are studying._

From:Spencer

Time:10:53am

_Call me, please._

From: Spencer

Time:1:46 pm

_ If you don't understand something, move on, we can go over it later. _

This feeling was weird,foreign to Amber. Having someone worrying about her, someone that wasn't her parents. Amber quickly texted Spencer back.

To:Spencer

Time:2:57pm

_Everything is fine. I cleaned, got some groceries, and have been studying like a fiend. I have a few questions but I can wait till you get back. -Amber_

Amber pressed the send button and leaned back against the couch. She threw her phone to the other side of the couch and took in a deep breath. Once she had relaxed, she got up off the couch and went to the kitchen. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it up with water from the fridge. She took many large gulps of water and slammed the cup down on the counter when she finished. Amber took many large deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling. _Why am I so stressed? _She thought to herself.

* * *

Spencer opened the door to his apartment later that night, at 8 pm. He saw Amber's books still skewed across his coffee table, but the rest of the apartment was clean. Spencer closed the door behind him and locked it.

"Spence?" He heard coming from the kitchen. He set down his bag on the floor and Amber appeared from behind the kitchen door. Amber ran over to him and gave him a realized what she was doing and quickly let go. "good to see you home," she said as she walked back towards the kitchen. "I made some dinner."

"What did you make?" He asked.

"Mac and cheese and peas," She giggled. Spencer pondered this food combination. "trust me, it's really yummy."

"Alright, I'll give it a try." He said as he followed Amber into the kitchen. Once in the kitchen he saw that she had a single red rose in a small vase, two plates of mac and cheese and peas and two glasses of milk sitting on the table.

"I remember you saying you like milk," she said as they sat down.

"That is true, I do," Spencer said as he started eating. "Did you know that red roses are given to those who you want to show love and passion to,people who you have great respect for, and those who have shown great quantity can also show something. A single red rose shows love, a dozen shows gratitude, twenty-five shows congratulations and fifty show unconditional love. Two red roses tied together symbolizes an engagement."

Amber smirked, "I know, I did my research,"

Spencer blushed as he pushed his glasses further up his nose with his index finger. He cleared his throat and said, "If I would have known, I would have gotten you fifty," He took a few sips of milk, then wiped off his mouth.

Amber couldn't help but get a big smile across her face. "You're just saying that,"

"No," Spencer blurted out as he looked her in the eyes. He gulped and quickly tried to change the subject. "how's your studying going?"

Amber sighed. "It's been a huge headache. I didn't realize I had mathwork to do too."

"When is that due?" Spencer asked as he continued his dinner.

"Monday night," Amber moaned.

"Well, after dinner we better get to it."

"Yeah, I guess..." Amber said, suddenly taking longer to finish the few bites of food she had left.

"Do you want to say over again tonight?" Spencer asked.

"Hmm...well I need some clean clothes...and a shower," Amber said as she looked at Spencer. He looked tired, beat and like he needed a shower too. "maybe I shouldn't tonight, you look really tired."

Spencer thought for a moment then said, "Well, we can go to your place, you can grab what you need and we can head back here. You can just shower here." Spencer watched as Amber finished her plate. "I'll take it," he said as he grabbed their empty plates and put them in the sink. "come on, let's go get you some clean clothes."

Spencer and Amber piled into Spencer's car and headed to Amber's apartment. Once they got there, Amber quickly ran upstairs to her apartment while Spencer stayed in his car. About 20 minutes later, Amber returned to the car with a small bag over her shoulder. She got in the car and they headed back to Spencer's apartment. Once back in Spencer's big, cozy apartment, Amber headed to the bathroom.

Spencer heard the door shut, then heard the shower water running. He loosened his tie and rubbed his eyes. _Man, its been a long day._ He thought to himself. He was tense, muscles tight like a bed spring. Spencer plopped down on his couch and tried to relax. His pocket beeped, he sighed as he reached in his pocket for his phone. He pulled his phone out and saw it was a text from Garcia.

_ Please, please don't mess this up. Think with your heart, not your head. -G_

Spencer shoved his phone back in his pocket. He sat there for a few minutes, it felt like hours. He heard the bathroom door open and moments later saw Amber. Her hair was dripping wet. She had on pajama bottoms on with smurfette on them, she was wearing an old hoodie and a tank top.

"Nice pants," Spencer said.

"Thanks," Amber said happily. "wait, where you making fun of me?" she asked.

"No, not at all." Spencer said with a laugh. Amber walked over to him and hit his forearm. "ow!" Spencer shouted.

Amber stuck her tongue out at him. "That's what you get." she said as she walked over to the couch and sat down. She started brushing her hair.

"You know, you shouldn't brush your hair while it's wet. Hair is fragile when wet and it breaks that way."

Amber sighed as she set down her brush on the side table. "I look like a rat with my hair wet."

Spencer laughed, "No you don't! I do, trust me."

Amber laid back against the couch, moments later, Spencer did the same.

"This may sound weird," Amber said as she moved over to Spencer. "but when I first saw you it was like...I saw a light. Like I always saw everything dull in color and when I saw you, everything was bright and colorful."

Spencer was fighting back tears, happy tears. He had a lump in his throat, he swallowed hard and said, " No one has ever said anything like that to me before," He put his arm around her shoulder, pulled her close and kissed her wet hair. "your shampoo smells good."

Amber lightly giggled, "Thanks,"

They sat like this for awhile. Spencer then broke the silence, "I better go take a shower." He said as he slid his arm from behind Amber's neck, trying not to move her. Before he got up off the couch he kissed her head once more and stood up. He headed to the bathroom and shut the door. Once he had showered, put his clothes on and got ready for bed, he walked back into the living room. Amber was fast asleep on the couch. She looked like a little fairy, curled up in a ball, lightly breathing. Spencer grabbed a blanket from his room and draped it over her. He kissed her cheek and reached over her to turn off the lamp. He quietly tiptoed to his room, leaving his door open just a bit so that he could see her sleeping from his bed. He climbed in his bed, pulled his covers over his body and his head hit his pillow. His eyelids were heavy, it didn't take very long for him to drift to sleep, with a grin on his face.

* * *

Come live in my heart, and pay no rent-Samuel Lover

* * *

A/N- I think I'll leave it here,I could keep going but eh I want to start the next chapter!(which will leave off here so might as well). So yeah Garcia found out...but the rest of the team hasn't found out and Reid doesn't even know that Garcia knows. So...next few chapters shall be interesting! :) **BTW Thanks for the reviews! **


	7. Running out of air

_Girl I wanna run right to ya_

_Then I wanna run away_

_Girl, I gotta hand it to ya_

_You know how to make me pay_

_Girl, I wish I never knew ya_

_'Cause every time I see ya standing there_

_Oh, feels like I'm runnin' out of air..._

_Everybody's got somebody_

_Who gets them the way you got me_

_You got me right where you want me_

_-Runnin out of air by Love and Theft_

* * *

Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.-Erich Fromm

* * *

The next morning, Spencer felt something poking at him. He groggily opened his eyes, once the figure came into view, he smiled. "Amber, why are you poking me?" he mumbled a little grumpy.

"I was trying to wake you up silly, but jeez if I would have know you where this grumpy in the morning, I wouldn't have bothered." she said with a pout. Spencer reached over his bed, snatched his glasses off the side table and put them on. He sat up, yawned and stretched.

"I'm sorry," Spencer apologized.

Amber patted his leg, still covered by his blanket. "Come on, get up. I made coffee and waffles."

"Ooh, waffles." Spencer said sounding like a little laughed at his sudden change in mood. Spencer pushed back his covers and jumped out of bed. The two headed to the kitchen, same setup as the night before,but with waffles. Spencer took a seat and started to eat. "these are good. I didn't know you could cook."

Amber hesitated as she sat down across from him. "I can't, they are eggos." she laughed.

"But you made pancakes yesterday,"

"Yeah, I can make pancakes, but pretty much anything else is a no go." Amber said as she started eating her breakfast. "anyway," she said trying to change the subject. "do you have work today?"

Spencer nodded, his mouth full of food. He chewed and swallowed then replied, " We have to find those three twenty year old girls..." he trailed off. "what if it was you." he mumbled.

Amber's face got hot, and she bit her bottom lip. "But it's not," she said.

Spencer took a sip of his coffee. "But it could have been," he mumbled.

Amber glared at him. "Spence," she said. "you can't think like that."

Spencer was moving his breakfast around his plate. He looked up at Amber, she looked like she was about to fall apart. Spencer sighed as quickly finished his breakfast. He got up and went to his room, changed into his work clothes and got ready to leave. Amber cleaned up the kitchen and walked into the living room. Amber plopped down on the couch and opened up a book from Spencer's book shelf. Once Spencer finished getting ready, he walked into the living room, to see Amber reading one of his books.

"Am," he said as he walked over to her. He sat down on his coffee table, across from Amber. She had her nose in the book. Spencer reached over and lowered the book. He saw that she was not looking too happy. "Am," he repeated. She sighed and set down her book. "I...I care about you. You know that right?" Spencer asked. Amber nodded yes. "I've never had someone this close to me before, I'm just scared that something will happen to you. That someone will take you away from me." Spencer took her hands in his. He lightly rubbed his thumbs across her hands. She had small, soft hands. Spencer smiled to himself.

"I know," Amber said quietly as she moved closer to Spencer. Spencer brushed the hair out of Amber's eyes. His heart was pounding in his ears, his palms were sweaty and his mouth was dry. They locked eyes and they couldn't look away. Spencer swallowed hard and cleared his throat, breaking the intense eye contact.

Spencer let go of Amber's other hand and stood up. "I better go," he said. Amber's heart sank as she watched him get up to leave. Amber stood up, quickly walked over to him before he could reach the door and grabbed his arm.

"Spence," she said with a heavy heart. He turned back and looked at her. Spencer's breath got caught in his throat. He didn't want to do this, not now. She gripped her hands around his forearms. Their eyes swallowed as he licked his lips. "are you going to kiss me or not?" Amber whispered to him. He took in a deep breath, he held Amber's face in the palm of his hands, leaned down and passionately kissed her. Amber's knees almost gave out, so she tightened her grip on Spencer's arms. Moment's later, the two pulled apart. Amber's heart was pounding in her chest from the amazing and sudden kiss. Spencer was out of breath, he couldn't believe what he had just felt all unreal to him. Amber got a big grin on her face and Spencer couldn't help but smile back.

"I have to go," Spencer whispered, his hands still holding Amber's face, their noses touching.

"Hmm?" Amber mumbled, as her eyes fluttered open.

"I have to go," Spencer repeated.

"Right," Amber said.

Spencer kissed her one last time before her let go of her. Amber let go of his arms and leaned against the couch. "I'll see you tonight." He said as he smiled. He walked the rest of the way to the door, opened it and closed it behind him.

Amber drew in a deep breath, she was feeling a bit dizzy from all the excitement. She smiled to herself and bit her lip. How was she suppose to focus on her homework now?

Once Spencer got to the BAU, he rushed into the big board sat down and set his bag down next to him.

"The parent's of the three missing girls are complaining," Morgan said as he sat down at his desk.

"Because we can't find their daughters?" Spencer asked. Morgan nodded.

"We have another 24 hours before it's not a missing persons case anymore." Rossi said.

"Looks like it's going to be a long day," Garcia said.

"This will have to go into tomorrow, too." Hotch said. Spencer sighed. Hotch heard this and then asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No,everything's great." he said with a fake smile. Spencer reached into his bag and pulled out his phone.

To: Amber

Time: 7:30 am

_I won't be home until real late, I'm sorry. I haven't even helped you with your class work._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Amber was reading a Sherlock Holmes book that she had been reading since Spencer left. Amber's phone vibrated on the coffee table. She sat up from the couch, reached over and grabbed it. She opened Spencer's text. A pang of disappointment set in her stomach. She quickly texted him back.

To:Spencer

Time:7:32 am

_Oh, it's alright. I can study by myself. Don't worry about it. Just do your job. It's more important. -A_

She hit send, leaned back on the couch and got back to her book. A breeze flew in from the window and hit her face. It was such a nice sunday morning out. She have didn't have work that day, she told the bookstore manager that she didn't need as many hours as before. She could just relax and do her homework, and not have to worry about getting ready for work.

Amber decided to finish off the chapter of Sherlock Holmes she was on, and start studying. She wanted to make Spencer proud of her. Once she finished the chapter, she set the book down and grabbed her psychology book. She was having a tough time concentrating. Between thinking about those poor girls that were missing, thinking about the first kiss her and Spencer had just shared earlier that morning, and about how she wanted him to be there to help her focus (or not focus).

Hours of studying had passed, Amber was surprised she made it that far and she decided to take a break. She grabbed her phone off the coffee table and realized she had a text from Spence.

From:Spencer

Time:10:24 am

_I can't say much, but I should be home earlier than I thought. _

To:Spencer

Time:11:22am

_Glad to hear. I've been studying by myself. But I might need some help. See you when you get here. _

Amber hit send, stuffed her phone in her pocket and got up off the couch. She decided to go to the coffee shop down the street,get some coffee and relax. She grabbed Spencer's spare keys from the dish on the table he kept next to the door. She opened the front door, shut it behind her and locked it. She put the keys in the pocket of her jeans, and galloped down the steps of the apartment. She headed out the lobby door and made her way down the street. It was very sunny and clear out. The birds were chirping and the wind was light. Amber headed into the coffee shop and waited in line to order. The shop was quiet, only a few people in line and a few people sitting down.

Amber ordered once it was her turn, she waited for her coffee and practically snatched it from the barista when it was finished. She walked back outside, coffee in hand and continued to walk down the street. She never really ventured outside of Spencer's apartment, so she figured she might as well if she was going to 'house sit' for him.

There were some boutiques and shops. Nothing that really interested Amber, so she decided to head back to the apartment. Amber reached the apartment after about 20 minutes. She shut the door behind her,locked it and threw the keys in the dish on the table that was next to the door. Amber set her half full cup of coffee on the coffee table and plopped down on the couch. She could understand why Spence wanted someone here in the apartment, with him always being gone and when he was home it was lonely. Not to mention so very boring. Amber couldn't understand how he couldn't have anything to do, other than just read. Don't get Amber wrong, she loved to read. But, after studying and reading four different textbooks, she just wanted to relax after all that reading.

She moped around for about an hour, then decided to get back to her homework. At around five, Amber heard the door handle jiggle and keys on the other side. The door opened,it was Spencer. Amber didn't bother to turn around, she was too engaged in her homework. Amber tore her eyes off of her books and looked down at the ground next to the coffee table. Spencer's shoes were staring back at her. She looked up and saw Spencer smiling at her.

"Hello," he greeted.

"Hi," Amber said back. "I didn't make any dinner,"

"It's alright,," he said, holding up plastic bags filled with bread. "I have that covered,"

"What did you get?" she asked.

Spencer smirked, "Lebanese food."

"Wow, I'm impressed." Amber said approvingly.

"I picked up some hummus, pita bread, baklava, meat pies and jordan almonds. I remember you saying how much you like them."

Amber stood up and hugged him. Spencer's arms were at his sides, bags still in his hands. "Uh...still holding the bags." Spencer said.

Amber let go of him. "Ah, sorry."

Spencer headed towards the kitchen. "How's the homework coming along?" Spencer asked as he walked into the kitchen. Amber stood up and followed him. Amber watched him as he set the bags on the counter. Amber leaned against one of the counters. Spencer waited for Amber to answer.

Amber pursed her lips, "It's coming along."

Spencer unpacked all the food from the bags and set them on the counter. He grabbed two plates from cupboard,set them down on the counter and began placing the food on the plates. "Is that all you did today?"

Amber shook her head no. "I went to the coffee shop, I needed a break. It was nice, just want I needed." Amber continued to watch Spencer get dinner ready. Spencer tore up long pieces of pita bread and laid them on the plates. He grabbed a spoon from a drawer, opened up the store bought hummus, scooped up some and placed huge dabs of it in the middle of the plate. Spencer set down the spoon, grabbed both plates and set them on the kitchen table.

"Dinner is served," Spencer announced with a smile as he walked over to Amber. He placed his hands on her hips and gave her a kiss. Once they pulled apart,he felt like he could breathe. He smiled at her, he inhaled and her fragrance was intoxicating. She smelled like moroccan oil and flowers. He let go of her hips and grabbed her hand. He walked her over to the table and gestured for her to sit down. She sat down, Spencer sat down across from her and they started to eat. "we found the three girls,"

Amber had a huge smile on her face. "I knew you guys would," Amber was folding her pita bread,dipped it in the hummus on her plate and took a bite.

Later after dinner, Spencer and Amber were on the was helping Amber study.

"Spence, we have gone over it so many times,"Amber moaned.

Spencer sighed, "I know you can get this."

Amber shook her head in frustration, "Maybe we should take a break, give my mind a chance to recharge."

"Alright, ten minutes," said Spencer firmly. Amber quickly scooted over next to him and he wrapped an arm around her. Amber laid her head on his chest. She could hear his heart pounding, it was like a loud, powerful drum.

"I missed you," Amber mumbled into his chest. She clenched his shirt with her hand. Spencer stroked her forearm with his hand that was wrapped around her shoulder. Amber sat there, waiting for a response.

"I...I missed you too," Spencer responded. He put his hand on Amber's hand, the one that was on his chest.

"It's so lonely here without anyone."

"I know," Spencer whispered as he stroked her hair. After a few minutes, Spencer made Amber get up. "come on, let's get back to work."

One week later

Amber finally moved out of her apartment, and moved in with Spencer. She felt weird moving in with him, after only knowing him a few weeks, but she knew she was lucky to even have him be in the same room as her. Amber slept in the spare room, next to Spencer' would check on her every night though, while she was had this nagging feeling tugging at his heart ever since she moved in. He wasn't sure if they were in a relationship or what. He just wanted her to be comfortable, to make sure that they weren't moving too fast.

Spencer left on Saturday, the team went to Oklahoma for a case. It was now Monday, Spencer had called earlier that day to tell Amber he would be back around 9 am. Amber fixed him eggs and bacon. Eggs and bacon are too easy to make, if Amber would have known this sooner she would have made them all the couldn't wait to show Spencer her results on her psychology test, she had just looked them up online.

Spencer walked through the front door right on time, at 9am sharp. Amber walked out of the spare room,greeted him with a hug and kiss and told him that she had made him breakfast.

"I got my test results back," Amber said as she and Spencer walked into the kitchen.

"Really," Spencer asked

Amber nodded. "I got an 83."

"I told you could do it, I'm so proud of you Am," Spencer congratulated as he sat down at the kitchen table.

Amber set a plate of eggs and bacon down in front of him. "Thanks," Amber answered. She grabbed another plate of food off the counter and set it down across from Spencer. She pulled out the chair and sat down. "I was wondering, have you told your team about me?"

Spencer flinched. He wasn't sure if it was any of their business. "I haven't, I don't think it's any of their business."

"Are you ashamed of me?" Amber asked. Spencer looked up at her, she didn't look mad or angry, she looked pretty calm.

"No," Spencer replied, he reached over and put his hand on hers. "I just...I want the time to be right," and like a slap in the face, Spencer thought of an idea. "how about tomorrow morning I take you with me and you can meet them in person?"

Amber shook her head. "No, it's alright," she smiled. "when it's time.I have class at 8 in the morning anyways."

"Alright," Spencer said as he began to eat. He honestly didn't want to tell his team, not until she was living there a little longer. Hotch would probably tell him he was crazy, Rossi would ask if she was younger, Morgan would want to high five him or would make fun of him, J.J would be embarrassed for him, Prentiss and Garcia would be asking him questions and saying how 'cute' it was. Spencer dreaded the thought. Sure, he wanted to show off Amber to his family. But he didn't want them to make a big deal that he was living with her...it wasn't like that...not yet at least.

* * *

A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.-Ingrid Bergman

* * *

A/N- this seemed like a good place to stop. I am going to start the next chapter so much is going to happen! I have a few ideas in mind...I'm just not sure which way to go with it...I'll figure it out!All of your reviews from the last chapter made me so giddy haha. I was seriously so very happy. Thank you for them!


	8. I am a keeper

A/N- this chapter is more crime than romance, but it is an important part of the story, well to me it is anyways. PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks! and thanks to those of you who have reviewed. :) And I don't own the song mentioned, The Band Perry owns that. I also don't own Criminal Minds. (unfortunately...)

Oh and for some reason, some words are missing or are mixed up. I looked at my copy on google drive and they are fine, so im thinking the uploader on here is mixing them up. Is anyone else having this problem?I even copied and pasted it and still had the same problem :(

* * *

We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love-Tom Robbins

* * *

**Two months later,April**

Spencer walked into his apartment after a long four day case,it was 12 o'clock in the morning. Amber was asleep on the couch, she was waiting for Spencer to get home and ended up falling asleep. Spencer walked over to her and covered her with a blanket. Spencer started walking to his bedroom.

"Spencer?" Amber asked. Spencer stopped.

"Yeah?" He asked as he turned around.

"Nothing, just making sure it's you." she mumbled.

"Oh,alright," Spencer yawned as he walked over to her. He leaned over, kissed her cheek and whispered, "you should really go to bed Am,"

"I know," she answered. "I don't want to get up," she said.

Spencer lightly chuckled then said, "Do you...do you want to sleep in my bed...with me?" he asked. Amber's hazel eyes opened instantly. Spencer stood up straight and paused. "give me a second," Spencer hurriedly slipped into his bedroom, shut the door and got dressed for bed. He went into his bathroom, cleaned himself up and went back into the living room. Spencer was wearing grey sweat pants, his hair was slicked back,and had on a black tee shirt. He walked over to Amber and held out his hand. She grabbed it and used it to help her up. Amber swung her legs over the couch, stood up and followed Spencer to his room.

Spencer opened the window in the room and Amber laid down underneath the sheets. It was a nice sixty degrees outside, and a nice breeze blew in from the window. Spencer walked over to the bed, his heart pounding in his chest as he walked over to the girl of his dreams. He knew she could never, in a million years, like him as much as he liked her. Spencer quickly shut off the lights, crawled under the covers and Amber cuddled up next to him,she was warm and smelled of fell asleep on Spencer's chest almost instantly.

* * *

Spencer awoke the next morning to a loud crash. He looked next to him, Amber was gone. Spencer almost started to panic, but he could smell pancakes and eggs;she was cooking. Spencer sighed with relief as he looked at his clock on the side table, in big bright green numbers it read 6:30 am. Spencer stretched,pushed back the covers, and fumbled out of bed. He heard music coming from the kitchen, so he decided to go see what Amber was doing. Spencer walked out of his bedroom and over to the kitchen door. He leaned against the doorway as he watched.

Amber was dancing and singing along to The Band Perry. _"I am a keeper,Oh I am a keeper Baby_," Amber sang, her back turned to him as she flipped a wanted to see how long he could stand there without being detected. Spencer didn't know she could sing, she sang pretty damn well in his opinion. "_Long stem roses, Standing in a vase by my bed Standing tall like the dreams in my head I'm not gonna live in this house 'til I'm dead I like you a lot 'Cause you're different a little You got answers to my riddles Your daddy is a pistol And you are a son of a gun._"Amber sang as she put her hand in the air like a gun and turned around, facing Spencer without knowing. She had her eyes closed, she opened them and saw Spencer leaning against the doorway. Amber's normally pale face turned bright straightened up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Hi," she squeaked.

"Hi,"Spencer chuckled.

"Exactly how much of that did you witness?" she asked.

"Enough to make you embarrassed apparently."

Amber blushed as she turned her attention back on the stove. "Breakfast should be done soon,"

Spencer chuckled at Amber's innocence. "You have a great singing voice." he said sincerely.

"Thanks," Amber mumbled as she finished making the last pancake and placed it on a plate along with a huge stack of pancakes already on it. Spencer grabbed himself a plate and sat down at the kitchen table. Amber served him some pancakes and eggs.

After breakfast, Amber cleaned up the kitchen and plopped down on the couch. She was finishing her Psychology homework she had started the night before, but ended up falling asleep waiting for Reid.

"You have class today right?" Spencer asked as he put his jacket on and wrapped his scarf around his neck, it was rainy and cold out that morning.

"Yup," Amber said as she sipped her coffee, she set the cup down and looked over at Spencer.

Spencer couldn't resist but walk over to her and kiss her. Moments later they pulled apart, Amber's face was a bright pink this time. "Sorry," Spencer murmured as he straightened up. "I couldn't help myself."

Amber giggled, "It's alright, do it anytime." She said as she licked her lips.

Spencer smiled softly at her and said, "Will do. I'll see you in a few days, hopefully not too many?"

Amber nodded. "Alright,"

Spencer collected his bag and his case files and headed out the door.

* * *

"This unsub is taking happy couples, making the boys watch him rape their girlfriends, then kills the boyfriends making the girls watch. Then slowly kills the girls?" Morgan asked once J.J was done with the briefing.

"Yup," J.J said, once Morgan had given a summary of what she just said. Spencer shifted in his seat. This case made him think of Amber for some reason. Oh right, cause he was in a relationship. He had almost forgotten. J.J looked at Spencer, he looked sick. Everyone had cleared out of the room, except Spence, he was still flustered, trying to pack up his things to leave. "Spence?"

Spencer looked up, "Yeah?"

J.J thought carefully about her wording, "Are...are you okay?" She asked.

Spencer pursed his lips together. "I've been seeing someone," He murmured under his breath.

J.J lit up. "That's great," she beamed, trying not to sound too excited, she didn't want to freak him out.

"Yeah, she's great, she's a little younger than I am but she... there's just something about her. She makes me laugh and smile. Even though she doesn't always get what I say...she still gets me." Spencer said as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I can't help but think, what if this was her; some guy coming along,raping her, then killing me..." Spencer didn't want to finish the thought. "I just, I hate that I can't protect her when I'm not home. I worry something is going to happen." He admitted.

J.J knew the feeling, especially when they were going after guys that where kidnapping kids. She hated knowing that she couldn't control what was going on at home. "She will be fine," She said as she patted him on the back.

* * *

The team flew to Texas and got there in record time. They got to work, trying to figure out the unsubs possible location from the previous dump sites. They spent the whole morning trying to figure out a profile at the local P.D.

"Hotch, there has been another couple," J.J said as she got off the phone.

"Okay, so we know this guy has some relationship issues," Rossi said.

"Maybe an ex cheated on him?" Prentiss suggested.

"It's possible." Morgan said.

"Maybe his mother and father were abusive. They had abusive relationships."

"How did he dump the bodies?" Morgan asked Hotch.

"No sign of remorse, he just dumped them like garbage."

"Anti-social? He had to earn their trust somehow, they are perfect liars, he could have manipulated them. He must work in a job where people trust him."

"Maybe a cop?" J.J suggested.

"No, if he has a criminal background, he would have a hard time getting into the academy." Morgan said.

"I don't think it's a guy that is in a uniform. It's something that is more creative." Reid said.

"Why do you say that?" Morgan asked.

"Because, look at what the couples were in when they were found. Wedding dress, tux, formal clothes, clothes that are more presentable. Maybe he owns his own business of some type. He might own a business since he can't hold a job."

"Each couple looked like they hadn't eaten in days, so he must be patient." Morgan chimed in.

"And each kill was thought out, nothing left behind, not a fingerprint, or any DNA. So he is organized, possibly OCD." Reid explained.

* * *

After giving the profile, of a 25-30 year old caucasian male. That is antisocial and possibly owns a business. A business that is creative, like an artist that does couple portraits. He is organized, so he possibly has OCD. And he is patient. That is why he tortures the couples and draws out the length of the kills.

After giving the profile, the team went to the latest crime scene. The victims were tortured. Nothing really new, so he wasn't escalating or evolving.

It was nearly 6'0 clock at night when they got a call from a local, saying she thought her neighbor was the killer.

"What's his name?" J.J asked. She listened then said, "Jim Thornburg." Garcia was on speaker phone, the team could hear her typing away as fast as she could.

"Jim Thornburg, 26, divorced, parents are divorced as well. He got divorced around the same time they did, 4 months ago."

"The stresser," Rossi said.

"Yes, and the fact that his father was abusive, sexually, towards his has a criminal record," Garcia paused to read what was on her screen. "oh no, he used to kill animals, he lied on multiple resumes and was thrown in juvie many times for sexual assault when he was younger."

"What does he do garcia?" Reid asked.

Garcia typed away on her computer. "He's a photographer, he owns a business, a photography one. Specializing in engagement photos."

"Text us his address." Hotch said as hung up. They hurried off to the cars, they piled in and took off.

"That's how he was controlling the boyfriends. By earning their trust," Moran said.

"he could have easily just hit them when they weren't looking."

Fifteen minutes later, the two big black SUVs pulled up to Jim's house. They all quietly piled out and headed for the door. They busted open the door,filed in side and searched the whole house.

"I hear noises coming down stairs," Spencer said as he headed down the stairs.

"Reid!" Morgan whispered after him, but it was too late, he was already half way down stairs by then heard a loud BANG, causing him to jump."Shots fired!"Morgan yelled. He swiftly got out of the kitchen and followed his team mate.

There was Jim,standing there with a gun in his one at the bottom of the stairs was Reid. He was on the floor, clutching his upper chest. Reid was leaning against the last step, feet sprawled out in front of him. Morgan carefully stepped over him and onto the floor of the basement. He had his gun out, as he looked at the basement. It was cold, unfinished and had dried up blood all over the floor.

"They all deserve it." Jim said, his eyes cold and lifeless. "they made me, it was their fault."

The rest of the team made it down stairs, carefully stepping over Reid, Hotch mumbled into his wrist that they needed a paramedic.

"They were only there for you so you could manipulate them."

"No," Jim said as he put down the gun on the floor, his hands in the air, admitting defeat. "They didn't deserve to be just let me kill them." Jim had a sly smile on his face. Morgan quickly walked over to him, kicked the gun away and handcuffed him. J.J moved Reid out of the way, so the paramedics could get down the stairs. Morgan got the scrum bag up stairs and watched as the paramedics raced past him.

* * *

Amber was in the middle of her Psychology class, they were talking about Psychological disorders, when she got a text. She quickly looked at it, hidden under her desk.

From:Garcia

Time: 5:50pm

Call me ASAP.

Amber pursed her lips together, quickly and quietly getting out of her seat. She headed into the hall and proceeded to calling Garcia. The phone barely rang once.

"Amber?!" She heard Garcia say, her voice was shaky.

"Yeah, Garcia, what's up?"

"Reid has been shot." Garcia whispered. Amber almost dropped her cell phone. "I am flying down to Texas, you are more than welcome to come along."

Amber had to process this. Spencer, was shot. Spencer, was shot. She had to say it over and over again until she could finally process it. "I...I'll come."

"I'll meet you at Reid's in half an hour." She said, and with that the line went dead.

Amber's body was numb as she walked back into the classroom. She quickly collected her things and bolted out the door, tears forming in her eyes as she made her way down the steps of the building.

* * *

**E/N- I hope you guys liked it! The unsub, i came up with in like an hour, and i know was totally lame. I just wanted something so that I could have Reid get shot. Him getting shot has a purpose,I promise!**


	9. The Mighty Fall

**A/N-Please, please review! They make me happy.I love finding out that people are actually reading this.**

**Ok, i think i figured out why some of my words are missing, because sometime i don't put a space between a period and a new sentence. So, the next chapter I will make sure I put a space in between each sentence. So, if you guys find any sentences in this chapter that doesn't make any sense, please let me know in a PM so I can fix it! Thanks!**

**HINT:If you look really closely,you many have to squint, you can get a clue of what is to come in future chapters.**

* * *

_Your crooked love is just a pyramid scheme_

_And I'm dizzy on dreams (and I'm dizzy on dreams)_

_But if you ask me two's a whole lot lonelier than one_

_B-baby we should have left our love in the gutter where we found it_

_(Gutter where we found it)_

_Cause you think you think your only crime is that you got caught_

_I'm singing_

_Whoa, how the mighty fall_

_The mighty fall_

_The mighty fall_

_They fall in love_

_How the mighty fall_

_The mighty fall_

_The mighty fall_

_Oh how the mighty fall in love_

-The mighty fall by Fall Out Boy

* * *

There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them.-George Orwell

* * *

Amber and Garcia headed to the hospital the second they got off the plane. It took them longer than they wanted. It had already been a few hours since they had gotten the news, and no one had called to tell them how Spencer was doing. Once at the hospital, they were shown the floor that Spencer was on. They were shown the floor that Spencer was on. They headed towards the team and fear flooded over Amber.

"What are we exactly going to tell them...about me?" Amber asked out of the corner of her mouth.

"Well, we can just say you are house sitting, which, technically you are."

"But I'm here, not house sitting Spencer's apartment."

"Good point." Garcia said as they finally reached the team.

"Baby girl!" Morgan said as he stood up from the waiting room chair. He looked at Amber, puzzled. "Who is this?" he asked as he walked over to the two of them.

Garcia pursed her lips. "This is Amber.." She said, trying to think of a way to cover for Spence.

"I am Spencer's roommate."Amber blurted out.

Morgan raised a brow. "Roommate?" Morgan repeated. Amber nodded. "Why would Reid need a roommate?"

"Well, he's never home, so I take care of the apartment while he's gone," Amber explained,trying to sound as calm as possible. "He's grown on me, I was worried about him so I came with."

J.J had overheard and stood up. "That's right, Reid told me he had gotten a roommate." She walked over to Amber and shook her hand. Amber glared at J.J not sure what to make of her going along with everything. Amber was also a tad bit jealous of her, she was perfect, too perfect. How could Spencer be with this woman all day and be happy to come home to her?

"So, is he still in surgery?" Garcia asked.

J.J nodded. "Thornburg almost shot him in the heart."

"All we can do is wait," Prentiss said. Amber sighed as she sat down next to Morgan. They sat there for hours, bored out of their felt awkward, out of place among her...was Spencer even her boyfriend? Could she even call him that? Anyways, whatever he was, she felt out of place among his friends. The way he talked about them they where like his had to make sure they liked her. When finally, a doctor walked up to them. All of them stood up, eager to hear what the man had to say.

"Spencer is fine. He needs some rest, only one of you should see him at a time." The doctor said.

"Thank you Doctor," Morgan said as the doctor nodded, turned on his heels and walked away.

"Who should go see him first?" Prentiss asked.

"I think Amber should go first." Garcia said.

JJ nodded. "I agree."

The rest of the team glared at them, wondering why they felt that Amber had the right to go in before them. "Alright," Hotch said, as he sat back down. He looked like he knew, somehow. Damn profilers.

"Are you guys sure?" Amber asked, not wanting to strike a nerve.

The whole team nodded. "We see him all the time," Rossi said with a smirk. Amber bit her lip as she walked down the hall. Spencer's door was open and she walked in, shutting the door behind her. It was dark in the room, there were no windows. There was a small light on, that was behind heart monitor he was hooked up to was beeping at a steady pace. Amber looked at him, really looked at him, he looked so...fragile. So broken.

"Spence," She said,her voice slightly cracking.

Spencer opened his eyes, he smiled at the sight of her. "Hey," the older man said.

Amber's bottom lip started to tremble, she had tears forming in her eyes. She bit her lip, to trying to contain her feelings. "How...how are you feeling hon?"

"Hon?" Spencer said, an amused look on his face.

Amber glared at him. "Shut up," she demanded as she walked over to him,she pulled up a chair and sat down. She took his hand in hers. "I...was worried about you."

Spencer swallowed. "I couldn't stop thinking about you, the whole time. While I was in the ambulance, while I was asleep in surgery. I just thought about how you would be so alone,if something happened to me." Amber pursed her lips together, Spencer sounded so sad, it broke her heart. Amber swallowed hard, trying to get the lump out of her throat.

"Well, don't worry about that now," she smiled at him. "But how could you do something so stupid? That's not like you."

Spencer sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to catch the son of a bitch."

Amber gasped at his language. "I don't think I've ever heard you swear."

Spencer laughed. "I normally don't unless I'm really mad." Amber smiled and looked down at her feet, she couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Reid could have been dead. She would have only had her friends, and none of them cared that much about her, except her friend Luke. But even then she didn't think he would let her live with him. Amber knew that without Spencer, she wouldn't be alive, because he gave her life. He was always warm, sweet and caring. He made her feel like she was the most important thing in the world, even though she knew she wasn't. Tears formed in her eyes and started trickled down her face. Spencer tilted his head, curious as to why Amber was staring at her feet for so long. "Amber," he asked. She tried drying her eyes before looking up. Spencer's heart sank. "don't cry," he pleaded.

"I just...I can't imagine my life without you," she mumbled as she looked away from Spencer.

Spencer squeezed her hand hard. "I feel the same way," he admitted. Amber looked back at Spencer and smiled.

Amber sniffled. "I...uh...I better let the team come in." she said as she let go of Spencer's hand and stood up out of the chair. She quickly leaned over and kissed heart monitor beeping noticeably faster.

Spencer blushed as reaction to the beeping, he laughed nervously. "Yeah, they might want to see me too."

Amber smiled sympathetically at the older man, as she made her way to the door. She turned the knob and quickly exited the room. She couldn't see him like that any longer. She hurried down the hallway, passing the waiting room of agents and Garcia. They called after her, but she just kept going. She was quickly walking to the nearest bathroom. She finally found one and walked inside, the door shutting behind her. Quickly, she walked into a stall and latched the door shut behind her. She leaned against the stall and buried her hands in her face. She started to cry harder. She wanted, so badly to tell Spencer how much she cared about him. But they weren't technically even dating. Yeah, she had been living with him for three months, but she didn't want to feel like she had to say it. Because since Spencer had let her live with him, it was like saying thank you. Like when some people get rescued and then 'fall in love' with the person that saved them. She didn't want Spencer to think she was saying it because he had, in fact done, just that. He saved her from ending up on the streets...or worse. But she wanted oh so bad to tell him how much she loved him. It was killing her. And saying it now, just because he almost died, didn't seem like a logical time to say it.

Just then, she heard the bathroom door open. Heels were clicking on the tiled jumped and looked up from her hands. She was quietly breathing, hoping the person would soon leave.

"Amber?" someone had asked.

"Yeah?" she said slowly.

"It's JJ," _Oh great, little miss perfect._ Amber thought. "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Amber answered as she wiped her looked at her hand, her makeup had come right off onto her hand. She sighed, trying to ignore it.

"Look, I know I don't really know you, but I know that you and Spencer are more than just roommates." JJ confessed.

"How?" Amber asked.

"Spencer told me," JJ smiled to herself. "He really cares about you."

Amber rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know." she muttered, not sounding all that happy about it.

"You don't sound too thrilled."

"I just..." Amber trailed off, trying to think of a way to explain it. "We are more than friends but then we aren't."

"Oh? How so?" JJ asked as she leaned against the sink counter top.

"Well, we kiss but that's it. We aren't boyfriend and girlfriend...I honestly don't know what the hell we are." Amber explained.

"Well, Spencer's never really been in a relationship. Maybe he just needs to be pushed in the right , he's a guy, they are usually clueless when it comes to us girls."

Amber giggled, JJ had a point. "I just can't help but think...he doesn't want me. I mean I'm nothing compared to him." Amber admitted.

JJ could hear the pain and confusion in the younger girl. "I know, it's hard to tell what is going on in that big brain of his," JJ explained. "But, the more time you spend with him, the more he will trust you and realize his feelings for you."

Amber sniffled again, her eyes scanning the bathroom stall, as if there was a hidden message somewhere. Amber took in a deep breath, and slowly let it out. She turned to the door, unlatched it and walked out. JJ pushed herself off of the countertop, she scanned Amber,she didn't really get a good look at her before, everyone was blocking her before in the waiting room. Her makeup was running down her face, JJ didn't think she was crying that hard. Amber had on baggy capris, she was definitely insecure about herself. She had her hair up in a ponytail, that usually showed confidence. She was wearing big,black rimmed glasses. She must have picked them out to frame her hazel eyes, to make them stand out more. JJ almost forgot that the younger woman was in pain, she shouldn't have been profiling her. JJ lightly shook her head, trying to get back on smiled at Amber, and Amber gave her a quick closed mouth smile. JJ watched Amber as she walked over to the sink. She took off her glasses, set them on the counter, turned on the faucet, cupped her hands underneath the water and brought her cupped hands to her face. JJ quickly grabbed some paper towel from the dispenser at the end of the counters, she walked back over to Amber and handed them to her.

"Thanks," Amber said as she patted her face dry. She slipped her glasses back on her face and everything came back into focus. She turned off the faucet and threw away the used paper towels. The two women headed out of the bathroom, and headed back down the hall to the waiting room. Amber quietly sat down next to Rossi. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"What nationality are you?"Agent Rossi asked, trying to get to know Spencer's friend.

Amber blushed lightly at the attention. "I'm Lebanese and Italian."

"Ah," Rossi nodded. "a dangerous combination." He stated with a smirk.

Amber laughed, "Yes," she agreed. "My dad is lebanese and my mother is italian. I have a few more mixed in there, but those are the main two."

"I'm italian." Rossi informed her.

Amber nodded. "Yeah, I could tell by the tone of your voice and your last name."

"Yeah, it's a given." he said.

"So, Spencer tells me that you write books? I mean that you are a published author." she said, trying to keep the conversation going.

"That is correct," Rossi confirmed. "Only crime books really. Are you a writer?"

Amber had an uncertain look on her face. "Sort of. I love writing, I write every chance I get. I'm going to college for my associate of arts, and then going to a liberal arts college."

"You don't really need a degree to write."

Amber sighed. "I know, but it's kind of a shame when you think about it. How just any person can publish a book. I'm not saying people don't have a right to voice their opinion but that some people write about, some very odd and messed up things." Amber admitted, not knowing to to put it gently.

Rossi nodded, "Trust me, you have no idea."

"No I do not, and I really don't even want to think about it. All the gorey and horrifying things you guys have seen." she cringed at the thought.

Rossi smiled at the young woman's innocence. "The world is filled with it, we just try to get rid of as much as we can."

"I know," Amber said as she leaned against the uncomfortable hospital chair. "I just can't get how someone like Spencer can be at the job."

Rossi shot her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the eidetic memory for one. And the fact that he seems so..." Amber trailed off, trying to think of the right words to explain Spencer. "strong,but underneath I know it kills him when he seems someone die or get hurt that doesn't deserve to. He's very compassionate and gentle."

Rossi was a bit surprised, she knew Spencer better than he thought she would. "He is strong, but he can be a bit careless sometimes,like how he was careless today," Amber heard Agent Morgan chuckle, obviously listening to their conversation, even though his eyes were closed. "he may be a genius, but he does some dumb things, just like anybody he is gentle,he sometimes lets that get the best of him,and from that he has learned from his mistakes and is stronger."

Agent Hotchner appeared from the hallway Spencer's room was. "Rossi, you can go next." He said as he sat down next to Agent Mogan. He looked exhausted. Agent Rossi nodded and stood up from the stiff hospital chair. He started walking down the hall and disappeared out of Amber's sight. Amber sighed, hoping he wouldn't tell Spencer about their little conversation. Amber rested her elbow on the arm rest, she rested her head on her hand and closed her eyes. The excitement of the day had her completely drained. She just wanted it to be over.

* * *

Only the weak are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong.-Leo Buscaglia

* * *

E/N-Man, two updates in one week?! I am on fire! :D

Thanks for the reviews,follows and faves! You guys rock!


	10. Alone Together

_Say yeah_

_Let's be alone together_

_We could stay young forever_

_We'll stay young, young, young, young, young._

_You cut me off, I lost my track_

_It's not my fault, I'm a maniac_

_It's not funny anymore, no it's not_

_My heart is like a stallion_

_They love it more when it's broken_

_Do you wanna feel beautiful?_

_Do you wanna?_

-Alone Together by Fall Out Boy

* * *

_Romance is thinking about your significant other, when you are supposed to be thinking about something else_.-Nicholas Sparks

* * *

Amber was sleeping peacefully at the hospital, but then someone starting shaking her shoulder, causing her to jump. She opened her sleepy eyes, to see Garcia, smiling at her.

"Come on Princess," she said. "visiting hours are over."

Amber stretched her limbs and stood up from the uncomfortable chair. "Where are we going to stay?" She asked.

"At a hotel near by," Agent Hotchner informed.

Amber nodded as her and the team headed down the hall to the elevator. "Princess?" Amber asked Garcia, as they followed behind the Agents.

Garcia grinned, "We have nicknames for each other," Garcia laughed at herself, "I'm still trying to find a good one for you."

Amber nodded, understanding why they had Garcia. She kept everything light and cheery. The elevator doors opened, doctors and nurses dispersed from inside. The Agents, Garcia and Amber piled inside the tiny, stuffy elevator.

Once at the hotel, they piled out of the was grabbing their bags from the trunk. Amber was in shock as she looked up at the tall hotel, it was pretty nice. "Is this where you guys always stay, at hotels?" she asked.

Agent Morgan shook his head, "No, we usually never get any actual sleep when on a case."

They walked in and Agent Hotchner handed them their key cards. "J.J and Amber in one room, Garcia and Prentiss in another, Morgan and I, and Rossi," he said, handing Agent Rossi a plastic key card. "you get a room to yourself."

Agent Morgan looked as though he got the short end of the stick. "Why couldn't I get a room to myself?"

"Because," Agent Rossi smirked, "I am older, and deserve one." the agent said, waving the card like a fan.

Agent Morgan glared at him as everyone headed towards the elevators, it was almost 12:30 and everyone was beyond beat. Amber felt like an outsider to Spencer's friends, and she wasn't too happy having to share a room with Agent Jareau. Agent Hotchner probably wanted to have someone keep an eye on her. The elevator came to a screeching halt, once it reached the floor, the doors opened and they stepped out onto the floor. They split up, everyone going to their rooms. Amber adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder, trying to get used to the fact that she had to spend the night with little miss blonde and perfect. Agent Jareau opened the hotel door with the key card and stepped inside. It wasn't that Amber didn't like the Agent, she was very nice to her. Amber just didn't get why Spencer was with her and not with the pretty Agent.

Amber entered the room, it was pretty big. It had two queen sized beds, a couch, a T.V and a mini fridge. The walls where a pure white, the molding on the border was gold, and a painting of some flowers hung on the wall in between the two beds. The beds had burgandy comforters, the nice kind of comforters, the expensive kind. Amber took a peek inside the bathroom and her mouth fell open. It had a huge bathtub on the one side, taking up mostly the back of the bathroom, a little closer to the door was a shower;It was all stainless steel. The floors of the bathroom where tiled with white tiling, the sinks where porcelain and had little tiny soaps near each of them.

Amber walked back out into the room. "Man, the FBI doesn't mess around, when they get you a hotel to sleep in, they hook you up." Amber said, giggling at herself for saying 'hook you up.'

Agent Jareau laughed, "Yeah, usually when we can't really get to them,so we get booked really crappy places, to not waste money." the agent said as she sat down on the bed closest to the door.

Amber bobbed her head, "Ah, makes sense." she said. She watched the blonde agent flipped her hair over her shoulder and started to unpack a few things. "Agent,are we going back to see Spencer in the morning?"

"Yeah," Agent Jareau said as she stood up from the bed. "And you can call me JJ." she said as she walked past the younger woman. Amber nodded, taking note of the information. Amber set her bag down on the bed and started to look for a few things. She quickly got on her pajamas, stuffed her clothes in her bag, pulled Spencer's copy of sherlock holmes out,carrying it over to the bed and hopped in. The sheets were so very soft, it was nice after a day of stress and uncomfortable chairs at the hospital and on the plane. Amber cracked open the book to her bookmarked page. Moments later, JJ appeared from the bathroom, showered, and changed into clean clothes. She saw Amber already in bed, reading a book. "aren't you going to wash your hair,shower or something?" she asked.

Amber looked up from her book, "Nope, I can't wash my hair too much. I have psoriasis on my head, plus you really shouldn't wash your hair too much, it strips the hair of it's natural oils." JJ nodded at the information, she was sounding like Spencer JJ thought. She noticed Amber's eyes get wide. "holy crap, that sounded like something Spencer would say."

"I was thinking the same thing," she admitted. She watched Amber push back the covers and walked over to her bag. She was fumbling around for something. Once she was done she walked over to JJ. She was holding her cell phone, toothbrush and a little makeup bag. JJ watched Amber turn on her phone and handed it to her. The phone's background was a picture of Spencer in his apartment, in a leather chair reading a book and he was wearing his glasses. JJ smiled at the picture, missing the young Agent.

"That man maybe a total nerd and know-it-all, but he makes me happy," Amber paused, smiling at JJ. "he makes me think about things and I just, I know he can be annoyingly sweet, but if it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't even be here." JJ smiled back at the younger girl, her heart sank at the sadness Amber's eyes. JJ handed her back the phone. Amber took the phone and started to head towards the bathroom.

"You should tell him," JJ announced.

Amber turned back around and faced the agent. She shook her head. "I can't," she sighed.

"Yes you can," JJ said sounding hopeful. "I am sure he would feel the same way."

Amber sighed, "What if I tell him, gets freaked out and makes me move out?"

JJ pursed her lips then said, " He wouldn't do that,"

Amber's eyes darted around the room, trying to think of something to say, but couldn't. So, she turned back around and headed towards the bathroom.

The next morning, Amber jolted awake. She had the worst nightmare. It was her telling Spencer her feelings for him and he just laughed at her, saying it wasn't logical for him to be with her. Amber shook her head, trying to forget the dream, it had felt so real. Spencer was with her,sort of, and he wouldn't have offered to let her stay with him if he didn't at least like her. Amber took in a deep breath, then exhaled. She looked over at the other bed, and JJ was gone. She heard the water running in the bathroom and crawled out of bed. Amber looked over at the clock radio, it was only 7:30 am. She sighed as she walked over to her bag and decided to pick out something to wear.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Spencer awoke that morning to someone talking to him. His eyes struggled to open, as he was so exhausted from the previous day. It was the nurse, she smiled at him and checked his vitals. The nurse walked out once she was finished and shut the door behind her. Spencer didn't feel alive, he felt like it was a dream. He hated that last night, Amber was so upset, for reasons he didn't know. There was definitely something going on with her. A hollow feeling hit Spencer's stomach, what if she was seeing someone? That would explain her sudden sadness. She was feeling guilty that she was seeing someone and didn't talk to Spencer about it. Spencer knew he didn't own Amber, or that they weren't officially together. But it made his blood boil in anger at the thought of another man kissing Amber, or touching her.

Spencer wouldn't be shocked if Amber was seeing someone else, he wasn't exactly 'boyfriend material.' He had barely touched her in the past few months, and had shown no real emotion towards her at all, except for kissing her a few times. Spencer sighed as he stared up at the ceiling, wishing he was back in Quantico, back home in his apartment with Amber.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At 8, Amber and JJ headed to the lobby, the rest of the team had beat them there. They walked outside and a dry heat hit them like a slap in the face. It was awful compared to the hotel, and Amber was glad she put anti frizz stuff on her hair, or she would have an afro by now.

"I really hate Texas," Agent Prentiss mumbled as she started to cough. JJ handed her a water bottle, the agent snatched it from her hand like it was the last amount of water on earth and chugged it down. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and saw stares from everyone on the team, including Amber. "thanks, JJ." she said as she handed her the empty bottle.

"Uh, anytime Emily," JJ said as she threw away the empty bottle in a nearby trash can. Their SUVs appeared in front of them,the two valets, walked around the cars and handed the keys to Agent Hotchner. He thanked them and they headed towards the front door of the hotel.

One of the boys smiled at Amber as he walked past her and said, "Mornin' miss," in a thick Texas accent.

Amber blushed as she turned around to face the boy,she could feel Garcia and JJ staring at her. "Morning," she said back, boy was too busy looking at her to notice he was about to hit the door. His back thumped into the door,and was fumbling to open it behind him. Amber giggled as she watched the two boys, his friend was shaking his head as he opened the door for his smitten friend, he pushed his friend aside and yanked open the door. The boy smiled at Amber one last time before grabbing the door and turning around to continue into the hotel. Amber had a goofy smile on her face as she turned back around, the team was now staring at her, some of them were smirking, but JJ and Garcia were glaring at her. Her smile instantly faded and she cleared her throat. "are we going to go see Spencer or just stand here?" she demanded and walked towards the cars.

xxxxxXxxxxxx

Once at the hospital they headed up towards Spencer's floor and walked into the waiting room. It was quiet, but it was nice and cool, unlike outside. Agent Prentiss yawned as she sat down.

"Want me to get you some coffee Em?" Agent Morgan asked.

"That would be lovely," she answered.

"I could use some too," Rossi said.

"Me three brown sugar," Garcia chimed in.

Agent Morgan looked like he regretted asking. "What about you?" he asked Amber.

"I...um...yeah, but I'll come with you," she offered.

Agent Morgan walked over to Agent Hotchner, he was standing at the nurses station, talking to them about when they could see Reid. Morgan quickly asked him if he wanted any coffee and he shook his head no. Morgan walked back over to Amber and said, "Come on baby girl,"

Garcia heard this and gasped. "Derek Morgan, how dare you call another woman baby

girl," she snapped, not happy at either of them.

"But she is a baby girl," the agent defended himself.

Garcia just glared at the Agent and turned her attention from him. Morgan shrugged as he and Amber started to head down the hall the elevators. They stood there, waiting for the elevators, in complete and utter awkward silence. The doors opened and the two stepped inside. The doors shut and Morgan pressed the button. "So," he said, breaking the silence. "you...uh are Reid's room mate?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Yes," Amber said, trying not to smile.

"And the two of you aren't dating?" the agent asked.

"Nope," Amber said, which on her part, wasn't really a lie.

Morgan couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Reid had a roommate, a girl roommate and wasn't dating her. It seemed kind of...like a cover up. "I have a hard time believing that," the muscular and intimidating agent said.

Amber gulped. "I'm not lying," Amber said, standing her ground.

Agent Morgan snorted, "Alright,"

Amber got a sense that the Agent didn't like her, and that was a problem for her. She wanted all of Spencer's friends to like her. She had bad experiences before where she didn't like one of her friends girlfriends and it just turned ugly. The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. The two stepped on to the hospital tiles and looked at the signs on the wall, trying to figure out where exactly the cafeteria was. "It's this way,at the end of the hallway," Agent Morgan said, as he pointed to the left. Amber followed the Agent as he started walking towards the hallway. The hospital was pretty quiet, for being a hospital. The two started getting closer to cafeteria, they were still silent, Amber knew for certain that Agent Morgan wasn't too fond of her. She felt it was best to keep quiet, so she wouldn't say something stupid.

Once Agent Morgan and Amber had grabbed the team some coffee, they headed back to the floor that Spencer was on. They headed towards the waiting room and saw the faces of the team. They looked, sad. Like they had just received bad news. Amber's heart sank, not sure if she should ask, or wait for them to say.

"Coffee?" Agent Morgan announced. Everyone immediately stood and walked over to them. The team wouldn't look at either of them in the eyes.

"What's going on?" Amber asked as she handed Garcia and Rossi coffee.

Garcia pursed her lips,worry filled her eyes. "Spencer, he had a heart attack."

* * *

If you wish to be loved, show more of your faults than your virtues.-Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

* * *

**E/N**- My other story,**_ You lie_**, should be up later today **OR** at the latest tomorrow morning. I have a new story up called,_** Comic-Con**._ It's a Criminal Minds/Big Bang Theory Crossover, so go check it out! Thanks for the reviews faves and follows! you guys rock! Keep it up! :D


	11. I want to tell you something too

A/N-Sorry for the confusion in the last chapter,I fixed the endnote, making it more clear. I probably should have used a different end quote too *i think i'll fix that as well*...again,I am sorry!

* * *

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.-Oscar Wilde

* * *

Agent Morgan's eyes widened at the news. "What? How is that even possible?"

"Shock from the trauma, it probably just hit him what really happened... Or a fragment hit his heart somewhere." Garcia said. "The doctor said he couldn't really tell us much right now. So, we have to wait." Amber was in shock, her body was numb and her face turned pale. She plopped down on a hospital seat, and buried her face in her hands. She looked up and the team was giving her sympathetic looks.

The team sat down in the hospital chairs, impatiently awaiting the news as they sipped on their had passed and everyone was getting annoyed that no one had told them what was going on. Finally, the doctor walked up to them, everyone stood up from their seats.

"Mr...uh...Dr. Reid is fine..." The Doctor assured them.

"What happened?" Agent Morgan demanded.

"He had an anxiety attack."

Everyone stared at the man. "Really?" Agent Morgan asked.

The Doctor nodded, "Many believe that they are having a heart attack, when in fact, it's only an anxiety attack. The symptoms are a lot alike."

"It took you this long to realize what it was?" Agent Morgan shouted as he got in the doctor's face.

The man gulped. "Yes, w...we wanted to make sure it wasn't a heart attack."

Agent Hotchner put an open hand on the steamed agent and tried pulling him back a little.

Agent Morgan backed off, trying to cool down. "Thank you Doctor."

The man straightened up and said, "You are welcome agent."

"When can we see him?" Amber asked.

"In a little bit, we don't want anyone crowding him or causing him stress. And make sure not to touch his left shoulder, it's still sore from the surgery." He reminded them.

"Thank you Doctor." Prentiss said.

The doctor nodded, turned on his heels and walked away. Everyone let out a sigh of relief that Reid was okay.

"Alright guys, let's just relax," Agent Hotchner said as he sat down in a chair.

"Man, it has been a stressful two days," Garcia announced as she plopped down into a chair.

Amber was glad it wasn't serious, she had finally stopped shaking after the doctor told them what really happened. She sat down in a chair next to Rossi and tried to sleep a bit more, there wasn't much to do at a hospital after all. She could finally breathe and stop worrying.

About an hour had passed, a nurse came up to them and told them that Spencer could be visited, they only wanted one person at a time in his room.

"Amber, you're up,"Rossi said with a grin.

Amber stood up, drew in a deep breath and started walking down the hallway. She couldn't wait to see Spencer. It had been a very crazy day and she just wanted to see him. She walked down the hall and saw that his door was wide open. She entered and he smiled as soon as he saw her.

"Hi," Amber said. But before Spencer could greet back, she walked over to him and planted a big kiss on his lips. After they pulled apart, the older man was grinning ear to ear. "Listen,I know I was acting weird yesterday. I just...I want to tell you something so badly and I still do, but I felt like you wouldn't say it back. I was just so frustrated and I felt like I was going to explode if I didn't tell you." Amber said quickly as she looked into his eyes.

"It's alright," Spencer said as he swept the hair out of her eyes. "I want to tell you something too,"

Amber perked up, "Really, what?"

Spencer took in a deep breath, exhaled slowly and then said, "I...I think I'm in love with you."

Amber planted another kiss on the man's lips, after she pulled apart from him she softly said, "I think I'm in love with you too."

"Is that what you wanted to tell me?" Spencer happily asked. Amber nodded. "I can see why you acted the way you did, I have been feeling like that for quite sometime now. I didn't think you would..." Spencer trailed off.

Amber tilted her head at him as she sat down in the chair next to his bed, she placed her hands next to him on the bed. "Why would you say that?"

Spencer sighed as she put his hand in hers. "I don't know, I guess because you are just so...beautiful and I didn't think you would want to be with a guy...like me."

"A guy like you? You are the greatest man I have ever met." Amber cooed.

"I am?" Spencer asked.

Amber nodded. "Yeah, I mean...you fight criminals, you're smart,very smart and you are just so sweet. I am the luckiest girl."

Spencer's face turned a bright red. "I'm the luckiest guy," he said as he gazed into her eyes.

"Ew," they heard someone say. Amber looked over at the door,it was Garcia. She had a huge smile on her face. "I kid, I kid," she assured them as she walked over to the bed. "But man, I thought you two were never going to admit your feelings for one another."

The two chuckled in relief. "Thank gosh we finally did." Amber said.

"Yeah, now you guys can tell the team!" Garcia said clapping her hands together, walking over to the door, sticking her head out into the hallway and calling for the team.

"Wait, what?" Spencer said in a panicked voice.

Garcia straightened up as she faced the two of them, she walked over next to Amber and waited for the team to walk through the door. Moments later, they did, all of them looking at the two and seeing that their hands were intertwined. "Tell them," Garcia said through a closed smile.

Spencer gulped. "I uh...we are..." he fumbled, trying to figure out the right words, since he had never done this before.

"We are a couple," Amber admitted. The whole team burst into happy chatter.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Prentiss gushed.

"Finally, pretty boy!" Morgan exclaimed.

"That's great," Hotch said, in a somewhat excited tone.

"Congratulations," Rossi said sincerely.

J.J was silent, she was just standing there and smiling. The team waiting for her to say something. Her eyes got a bit bigger as she looked around, to see them staring. "I uh...I'm happy for you guys." she beamed.

"Thanks," Spencer said.

"We better get out of here, we all can't be in here, or we will get bitched at." Garcia said as she walked over to the door.

The rest of them piled out as well. Morgan quickly reached over to Spencer and tousled his hair. "Kid, you're growing up," he said with a smirk.

Spencer frowned a bit as he quickly tried to fix his hair. Morgan walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. "I'm glad they were happy for you," Amber said, taking her eyes off the closed door and turning her attention back to Spencer.

Spencer smiled, "Yeah, I knew they would be happy for me."

"I didn't think they'd like me,"

"Why not?"

"Because, I'm not really one of you guys. I'm not smart, or anything like that. I am so the opposite of you."

"Well, that's what I love about you," Spencer said. "I mean you are smart, but you don't need to always be on alert, always wondering if someone is going to really stupid. I love that you are so carefree and easygoing," He said as he placed a hand on gently on her cheek. Amber could feel her face becoming red, not really knowing how to respond to the complements. Spencer took his hand off her cheek and drank in her beauty.

Amber nervously played with her hair as she stood up. "I..uh...I better let you get some rest so you can leave this place."

Spencer nodded in understanding, "Hopefully I can today," he shrugged.

Amber leaned over him and gently kissed his lips. "I love you." she whispered in his ear once they pulled apart.

"I love you too," he whispered back.

Amber straightened up,realizing how fast her heart was beating. She smiled sweetly at him as she walked to the door. She turned the doorknob, opened the paused, she looked back at the man one more time, smiled then exited the room and closed the door behind her.

* * *

Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.-Thomas Merton

* * *

E/N-Finally! They told each other! Spencer will be finally leaving the hospital in the next chapter. I feel weird using that last quote, since they used it in the show...but hey, it's a great quote!


	12. I love you, you know that right?

True love stories never have endings.-Richard Bach

* * *

Amber made her way back to the waiting room, the group was gone, except for Prentiss and Morgan. Amber walked over to them and neither of them were looking at her.

Amber raised an eyebrow at them. "Uh...what's wrong guys?"

Agent Morgan shifted in his seat and looked at Amber. "We felt...what's the word...guilty, because a few months ago, Spencer would always be excited to see this girl he had met. And then all of sudden he stopped talking about her. We figured the two didn't hit it off, but just now we realized that you where that girl."

"I'm sorry," Amber said shaking her head, "I'm confused, why do you guys feel guilty?"

The agent sighed,trying to put off telling her."Because, we kind of made fun of him for it behind his back, saying he probably scared the girl, you, off." Morgan said. "he can be a bit annoying sometimes," the agent admitted.

Amber laughed, "I kept asking him when he was going to tell you guys, I thought he was embarrassed by me," Amber plopped down in a seat across from Morgan. "Because I'm not as brilliant as any of you."

Morgan laughed as he shook his head, "Amber, from what he's told me, you're pretty great."

"He's been talking about me?"

Morgan nodded. "Last night when I went in there to see him, you where all he talked about, I was just happy he was not rambling about some statistic or fact," the agent said with a bored eye roll.

Prentiss' mouth was open wide then said, "Yeah, that never happens." she said with a laugh.

"I'm just glad he didn't scare her off," Amber heard from behind her, it was Garcia, walking over to them, with two coffee holders with four coffees in each. "they are the cutest couple ever." she said.

Amber blushed. "Thanks," she said as Garcia handed her a coffee. Amber realized she had gotten one too many coffees. "what's with the extra coffee?"

"It's for that cute intern," she said as everyone grabbed their coffee, leaving the last one for Garcia's plan. Garcia took the coffee out of the holder and walked over to the intern. She started flirting with him, but she pointed at Prentiss at one point and moments later came back with his number.

She handed the number to Prentiss, her mouth gaped. "Why are you giving this to me?" she asked.  
"Because, it is for you, I'm pretty sure you are the last one in the group to be single."

Morgan raised his eyebrows, trying not to look at the other agent, and was also trying not to laugh. Prentiss still hand her mouth open, "But...Morgan..."

Garcia raised a finger at her, "He...is a totally different story of chocolatey goodness, he can't have a relationship, he's too busy fighting off all the honey's."

Amber and Morgan looked at each other and busted out laughing from Garcia saying 'honey's'. "She has a point Em," Morgan said, as he sat back in his chair and took a sip of coffee. Prentiss sighed as she tucked the number in her pocket, admitting defeat.

* * *

Spencer had finally gotten the okay to leave the hospital, he couldn't wait to head back home. He was missing his apartment, his bed and seeing Amber in his bed. Amber was helping him pack up as he changed into his clothes and out of the backless gown. The gown that made Amber giggle since he had forgotten it was backless. Earlier,when he had gotten up to go to the bathroom change,he had heard her say how cute is butt was, and it made his face as bright and as red as a tomato.

"Spence, you almost done?" He heard Amber say from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Almost," he said back. He went to put on his shirt and moaned in pain.  
"Are you okay?" she asked.

Spencer pursed his lips, "Yeah, just my arm...I'm having trouble getting my shirt on."

It was silent for a moment, then Amber said, "Do...do you need any help?"

Spencer hesitated for a second, "I...umm..yeah."

Amber slowly opened the door, ducked inside and shut the door behind her. She was thankful the bathroom was rather quite big. Or it would have been slightly more awkward. She looked the young man up and down. He was so small, so fralie. He was very thin and tall, Amber realized, she was always attracted to that type of guy. But thankfully this guy was different, he wasn't just some guy, he was a man. A man, not just from his looks, that were a bit boyish and charming, but how he used his brain and intelligence, _that_ was what made him a man.

"At least you got your pants on," she said with a smirk.

Spencer narrowed his eyes at her, "Yeah, thankfully I wasn't shot in the leg." he joked back.

"Oh, so now you're cracking jokes," Amber said as she helped him get his left arm into his sleeve.

"Spencer?" they heard from the other side of the door, they looked at each other with wide eyes. It was Hotchner.

"Umm...yes?" Spencer said back, as coolly as he could.

"Is...is Amber in there with you?" he asked.

"No, Why?" Spencer lied.

"I can see two shadows under the door," Spencer could hear the smirk in Hotchner's voice.

"Nope, just me." he said then bit his lip as he had to put his shoulder back to get his arm in his shirt, "why on earth did you pick this shirt," he whispered at Amber.

"Because, I thought it would be fun to get your arm into the sleeve." Amber whispered back sarcastically, as she pulled his arm through the sleeve. Spencer let out a loud cry and started panting. He was actually sweating, just from trying to get the damn thing on himself.

"Pain killers wore off," Spencer said in a hushed tone to Amber, as he put pressure to his shoulder.

Amber rolled her eyes, "You don't need anymore."

"If I don't need anymore, than why am I in so much pain?"

"If no one is in there, then who are you talking to?"

Spencer quickly slipped his mismatching socks and his shoes on. He grabbed the gown that had been tossed on the floor and opened the door. "I was just helping him put his shirt on," Amber said as she walked through the door out into the room. Everyone was standing in the room, waiting for them.

"Sure you where," Garcia said with a wink. Spencer rolled his eyes.

"We haven't even...done that yet." Amber whispered, but the rest of the team still heard her.

Spencer's palm went flying to his forehead. He shook it off and turned off the bathroom light. He put the gown on the bed and grabbed his messenger bag. "They didn't really need to know that Am," Spencer said.

"I know, but you think they would know we haven't. I mean we just became an actual couple this morning." Amber defended.

"Yeah, but most people have sex beforehand." Morgan said.

"Well, we aren't most people," Spencer stated, a little annoyed about the conversation.

"That is so true sweetie," Garcia said in a somewhat sympathetic tone.

The group piled out of the room and headed towards the elevators, glad to be finally heading home.

* * *

The ride home on the jet was nice and quiet. Morgan had his headphones on, J.J was reading some magazine, Prentiss was trying to sleep, Rossi was reading a book and Hotch was watching Reid. Rossi looked up at Hotch, leaned over the table and said, " Hotch, you can't keep protecting him."

Hotchner slowly took his eyes off the young agent and his girlfriend that were on the couch. "I know,"

"I think she's perfect for him, he won't be so focused on work." he said trying to reassure Hotch.

"I'm still deciding if that will be good or bad." Hotch said looking at Rossi.

Rossi set his book face down to hold his place. "He won't let the relationship interfere with work,"

Hotch sighed. "I kind of hope he does."

Rossi nodded slowly, "Because you don't want what happened to...to you and Haley happen to him."

"Yeah..." Hotchner said trailing off. "this job sucks everything out of us. It takes up our personal life, our free time, and our sanity."

"Well, they have been living together for about three months now, she doesn't seem to mind his long hours...or him being gone for days." Rossi said.

"I know, but soon she will get disappointed. Once they start going out on dates, making plans to do things and between their schedules, they will never see each other."

Morgan took off his headphones, he was sitting next to Rossi and had pretty much heard their whole conversation. " If she really loves Reid, she won't care." The three of them looked at the couple, Spencer had his arm around her shoulder, Amber's legs were crossed and she was reading a book. Spencer was reading it over her shoulder, he was whispering in her ear, and Amber was quietly giggling. The three men smiled at the site of their youngest agent. They turned back to each other and Morgan said, "I don't think I've seen him that happy before."

"I just don't want him getting hurt," Hotch said.

"I don't either, but do you want him to be lonely and miserable, or happy and confident?" Morgan said.

Hotchner sighed. "I know, I just want him to be careful."

"You don't trust Amber?"

Hotch shook his head,"It's not that, I just want him to realize...this might not last forever."

"I think he knows that, he's a smart kid," Rossi said with a smirk.

"Not when it comes to girls," Morgan snorted.

"True," Rossi laughed.

"It could last forever, you never know, she'd be stupid to leave him for anything." Morgan said. "I mean, they haven't even...had sex yet," Morgan slightly didn't want to think about how awkward that will be for both of them. " she must have some patients."

"Garcia told me that that's one of the reasons she likes him. We've seen some of these guys that can't keep it in their pants." Rossi said in disgust.

Morgan laughed at Rossi. "He's right, Reid respects women and Amber respects him for that."

Hotch sighed, they both had good points. He came to the conclusion that right now since Reid wasn't worried about it, he wouldn't be either.

* * *

Morgan had dropped off Amber and Spencer at their apartment. They waved to him, he waved back and took off. Spencer walked to the door and held it open for Amber. She thanked him and walked inside. They headed up to the second floor, reached their apartment door and Spencer unlocked it. He opened the door and let Amber in first. Amber headed in, set her bag down and turned to Spencer. She watched him shut the door, lock it and turn around to face her. Spencer set down his bag,then he swiftly leap over to her wrapped his arms around her, he wrapped them tighter, and realized he didn't ever want to let go of her.

"Spencer, your kind of crushing me..." Amber said, trying breathe.

Spencer unwrapped his arms and stepped back from her. "Sorry," he blushed.

Amber stepped closer to him and stroked his cheek. "You are such a sweetheart, you know that?"

Spencer looked at her in confusion, "Is that good?" Amber nodded. "Oh, well good then." he said flashing her a smile. Amber wrapped her arms around his waist, she was so short compared to him, the top of her head barely touched the bottom of his lip. Amber couldn't help but smile, she had been so lucky. Lucky that this brilliant, sweet, kind man had loved her back.

"Come on, let's go get some dinner," Amber said as she pulled away from Spencer.

Spencer nodded, "Alright, just no Chinese," he said as he grabbed his keys and wallet from the table he had next to the door.

Amber looked intrigued. "Why not?"

Spencer shrugged, "Because, I can't use chopsticks."

Amber laughed at him, "You have a PHD in Engineering and you can't use chopsticks?"

Spencer glared at her as he opened the front door, "Can you?"

Amber went silent for a moment then said, "Alright no Chinese." As she walked out of the apartment.

She watched Spencer shut the door behind him and lock it. The two headed down the stairs and walked out of the building. They decided to walk a few blocks to a restaurant nearby and have dinner there.

They were both famished and Amber wanted to talk to Spence without people interrupting them. Amber had her arm interlaced with Spencer's as they walked.

"Hey," Amber said.

"Yeah?" Spencer asked.

"I love you,you know that right?" she said, her head still facing forward. Her grip on his arm tightened and she held back tears. She hated this feeling, of loving for someone and caring about them. It felt...unfamiliar. She never really had anyone love her. Sure, her parents loved her, even though they practically made everything worse for her by them being so overprotective. It took everything she had to get out of the small town in Ohio to move. Her parents ended up moving to Texas. Her brother, sister-in-law and two nephews lived down there. She wanted to get away from her parents, always protecting her. Her parents never really raised her, her grandmother did, but then when she was ten her grandmother died of lung cancer. And ever since then, Amber realized she was missing something, she just didn't know what. Any other time when she tried to form a relationship, she always pushed the guy away, she couldn't trust anyone because she knew if she let someone in, she would wind up getting hurt. Every time something good happened to her, it always got taken away. But once she moved to D.C, she realized she would be able to start over. She promised she wouldn't run from the first guy that showed any interest in her, and that guy was Spencer. She was happy it was him, he was hard to run from.

Amber peered over at Spencer, his smile was warm. He said, "I know, I love you too." He looked over at the girl and smiled down at her. Amber smiled back, she hoped that the man had loved her as much as she loved him.

"I was thinking," Amber started. Spencer wasn't sure what was coming next, but he knew he probably would not like it. "I want you to meet my parents."

* * *

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.-Lao Tzu

* * *

A/N- I promise this will get more exciting! I'm not too sure about this chapter...I feel like I mostly talked about Amber...I looked over it so many times but there are probably some mistakes(I hope there aren't!)...anyways... Thanks for taking the time to read and review! Also, thanks for the follows and faves! I was thinking of making another story with Amber in it. It would **not** be a sequel. It would be a completely different story, just with her in it.


	13. Please Tell Me He Wasn't the Surprise

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.-Charles Spurgeon

* * *

Spencer didn't know what to say. He was actually surprised to hear her say this. "You're parents?" Spencer asked. Amber nodded. "Alright," he said as they headed into the Indian restaurant. They waited to be seated, silence fell between them. A waitress motion for them to follow her, they walked over and she told them to follow her to their seats. They took their seats at a two chair table, she told them she would be back to get them something to drink.

Amber looked at the menu, her eyes peering over the menu to look at Spencer. "Are you mad at me?"

Spencer looked up from his menu, a confused look was on his face. "Why on earth would I be mad at you?"

Amber shrugged, "I don't know,"

Spencer shifted in his seat. "I've just been thinking. What if your parents don't like me?"

Amber shook her head at him and lightly laughed, "Spencer, they will love you!" she reassured.

"You said they live in Texas," Spencer asked. Amber nodded. "Alright, I'll get a long weekend off of work and we can go see them."

Amber squealed in excitement, "Yay," She then cleared her throat and straightened up. Spencer had a smirk on his face, he loved having her around. She made him happy, having someone like that to be there for him when he came home from a long day of seeing bloody crime scenes, people getting shot and traveling to different states. Since she made him happy, making her happy was the least he could do.

The next day, Amber was up before Spencer, she was looking up flights to go to Texas. Spencer walked over to her at the kitchen table. "What are you doing up?" He asked as he poured himself a pot of coffee.

"Looking up flights." She said without looking up from her laptop.

"Don't you have finals this week?" He asked taking a sip of coffee.

Amber nodded. "Yeah, I'm looking for going on Friday, when my finals are done."

"And how is that going?"

"What?" Amber asked, as if she didn't know what he was talking about.

Spencer glared at her. "You know what I'm talking about, Missy."

Amber let out a heavy sigh. "It's going,"

Spencer sat down on the chair across from her. "If you need help..."

"I know I'll ask you for help," Amber recalled cutting him off.

"Alright," Spencer said as he sat back in his chair. "I just don't want you to fail."

Amber drew in a deep breath and exhaled. "I know. I just want you be proud of me, passing by myself, without help."

"Amber, if you need help, you need it. It doesn't mean I won't be proud of you." Spencer reassured.

Amber took a sip of her coffee. "I know." she said casually.

Spencer grasped his coffee mug harder, he watched as Amber got up from her chair, walked over to him and kissed his forehead. A smile crept up on Spencer's lips. She walked over to the sink, set her cup in the sink and sighed. " I don't mean to sound like..." Spencer trailed off.

"I know," Amber said. "I just don't want to fail, because if I fail you will probably break up with me." Amber turned and faced the man. She was still standing near the sink.

Spencer shot out of his chair, almost taking his coffee cup with him, causing him to spill some coffee on the table. He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, he looked into her eyes and said, "I would never, ever, break up with you for that. You are smart,Amber. Even if you did fail a class, it doesn't mean you aren't smart. And I would never fall out of love with you for it. I fell in love with you, for _you._" Amber stared at him. Her eyes searching for answers in his. Spencer took his hands off her shoulders, he straightened up and put his hands in his pockets. " I understand that you feel that we are different, but that's why I am interested in you," A smirk crossed his lips. "I find it...titillating." Spencer smiled.

Amber tilted her head at him, trying to contain her laughter. "Titillating? You can't say sexy?"

Spencer lightly chuckled. "Sexy, that you were working in a book store. I remember the night I first ran into you. You had your hair up in a bun, wearing your glasses, and you...just had something about you." he tried to explain.

Amber flashed him a big smile, she remembered that day. " And look at what you got yourself into."

Spencer took his hands out of his pockets, stepped closer to Amber,and used his index finger to lightly tilt up her chin to look up at him. "What I got is a beautiful, sweet, and smart woman," Spencer whispered. His nose lightly touching hers.

A smiled slipped upon Amber's lips. Their lips touched and a spark ignited between them. Spencer placed his hands gently on her face, bringing his lips closer to hers. Amber moved her body closer to his as they continued to kiss. Amber wrapped her arms around his waist, making their bodies touch. Spencer's breathing got heavy, he continued to kiss her, their lips only parting for air. Spencer ran his hands through her hair, his hands landed on her back and moved down lower on her body. Spencer took his lips off hers, his lips went to her neck and Amber moved her hands up his back. Spencer lightly kissed her soft, supple skin on her neck. Amber pursed her lips in pleasure, she wanted to rip his clothes off and have her way with him. But she contained her excitement, ruining the moment by saying breathlessly, "It's getting late, you're going to be late for work."

Spencer stopped kissing her neck, he sighed as he straightened up, his hands never leaving her lower back. He leaned in to her, giving her a passionate kiss on the lips. They pulled apart, and Spencer was smiling at her. Amber smiled back sweetly. Amber's arms were still wrapped around his waist, so she gave him a quick squeeze, he returned the hug and they pulled part. Amber was still taken aback, discombobulated, she had to lean against the counter and take a deep breath. She was a bit flustered and her face was flushed. Spencer pursed his perfect lips together as he walked out of the kitchen,he headed to the bedroom and got ready to go to work. He caught himself smiling from time to time as he got ready, making Amber flustered like that, he never thought he could ever make a girl feel like that.

* * *

Spencer stepped into the bullpen of the BAU. It was rather quiet that morning, Spencer had gotten there early, he wanted to talk to Hotch about letting him get the weekend off. Spencer made his way to the steps to the offices of his superiors. Hotchner's door was open, of course. He probably had gotten there at about six-thirty that morning. Spencer knocked on the open door, he saw Hotchner with his head down, scribbling something down on a notepad. Hotchner looked up at the sound of Spencer's knock.

"Hello, come in Reid," the older man said as he looked back down at what was on his desk. Spencer stepped into the room and walked over to Hotch's desk. "what's wrong Reid?"

"Nothing," Spencer said with his head down. "I...uh...need some time off," he mumbled.

Hotchner looked up at him, Spencer could feel his eyes on him and looked up. "Okay," Hoch simply said.

Spencer's eyes got big, he was surprised he didn't even ask. "You're not even going to ask why?"

"Alright, I'll bite. Why?" he asked, putting down his pen.

Spencer regretted pointing out why Hotch had not asked why he wanted off. "I...well Amber, wants me to meet her family. More specifically, her parents."

"Ah, I see." Hotch said as he shifted in his chair.

"I know you don't really...approve of Amber."

Hotch gave him a look of confusion. "That's not true," Hotch replied. "I just don't want her to hurt you."

Spencer was experiencing a lot of surprises from Hotch this morning. "I didn't know...you were so..."

"I want you to be happy Reid. You deserve it," Hotch reassured, cutting him off. "I don't want you to be unhappy because our work gets in the way of our personal life. You deserve time off anyways, in the three years you have been here, you have worked almost everyday."

"I know that Hotch,"

"So, then why did you think I would deny your request to take time off?" Hotch asked, his head cocked to the side.

"Because, you don't seem too fond of Amber...I could hear you, Morgan and Rossi talking about us."

Hotch sighed, his eyes darted away from Spencer's, " I just want you to be careful." he said as he looked back at the agent.

Spencer crossed his arms over his chest. "Is this because she is my first real girlfriend? And because I'm the youngest of the team? I respect that you care about me, but I can see when something is wrong. I am a profiler. I can look out for myself. " Spencer defended himself, talking so fast, Hotch blinked at him a few times, trying to digest what he had just heard.

"This isn't just for me, it is in the best interest of them team. If you and Amber break up, you could jeopardize the balance of the team," Hotch said as gently as he could.

Spencer shook his head in doubt, "We won't break up," Spencer informed, a hint of anger in his voice. "and even if we did, it would not compromise the function of the team."

Hotchner sighed. "I understand that you feel like you two will be together for ever but.."

"It isn't logical." Spencer said, finishing Hotch's sentence.

Hotch looked at the younger agent, he could see the sadness in his eyes. He shouldn't have said anything. He shot down his hopes,like a parent, telling his kid he will never become an astronaut or a race car driver. "Look, I'm happy for you, I am. But I just want you to know, to be careful."

Spencer pursed his lips, he looked down at his feet for a moment, he then looked up and nodded slowly at Hotch. "I know. I understand your reasoning, I will be careful."

Hotchner nodded once at him and said, "Go with Amber and meet her parents. Enjoy your time off. Alright?"

Spencer bobbed his head up and down a few times. "I will. Thanks...oh and we are leaving Friday, I'll be back by Monday."

"Alright, we may even get out early today, JJ hasn't found the right case yet." Hotch informed him.

"Okay, I guess I'll just work on paperwork." Spencer said as he turned towards the door and then walked out into the bullpen.

* * *

Later that night, Amber had arrived home from her Psychology class final. She decided to order pizza for dinner that night, and had bought a bottle of wine to celebrate. Amber set the wine in the fridge and walked out of the kitchen. She walked over to the couch in the living room and plopped down on it. It had been a long day. She worked an 8 hour shift at the bookstore, then went to her class to take her final. Her cell phone started ringing, she sighed as she grabbed her bag off the other side of the couch, she dug around her bag and found her phone. She looked at the screen to see who it was calling, it was Spence.

Amber happily clicked the talk button on her phone, "Hey," she greeted.

"Hello," he replied.

"Are you on your way home?" she asked.

"Yes, I am on my way to my car."

"Good, I ordered pizza and got wine."

"Oh really?" Spencer said sounding intrigued

"Yes," Amber answered.

"What's the occasion?"

"You'll see."

Spencer lightly chuckled on the other end of the phone. "Alright, I should be home soon. See you."

"See you." Amber replied as she ended the call. Amber tossed her phone to the other side of the couch. Amber sat there, not really wanting to move. She sat there for a good twenty minutes before someone rang the doorbell. Amber sighed as she stood up and walked to the door. She opened the door to see the pizza man, but to her surprise it was someone she knew. "Luke?"

Luke's blue eyes lit up, "Hey Amber!" he greeted. Luke was a friend of hers, they had a few classes together. Plus her friend Sarah introduced them when she first moved to D.C. Sarah's boyfriend, Frankie, was friends with Luke. Luke was a great guy. He came from a wealthy family,he was the star quarterback at his high school, that granted him a scholarship. He had bright blue eyes, blond hair and was very handsome, unbelievably handsome.

"I didn't know you were a pizza guy. I thought you had a football scholarship, why are you working?" she asked.

"Well, I want to make a living,not just be some spoiled guy that gets everything handed to him." he explained.

"Good for you," she said as Luke handed her the pizza. Amber walked over to the coffee table and set the pizza down. She walked over to her bag and searched for her wallet.

Luke looked around the living room of the apartment. "This place is nice,"

"Thanks, it's not mine though." she said, continuing to search for her wallet.

"Is it alright if I step in?" Luke asked.

Amber lightly laughed, "Yeah, come on in."

"Thanks," he said as he stepped into the apartment closing the door behind him. "So, whose apartment is this?"

"My boyfriend's," she said.

Luke seemed shocked at the news. "Boyfriend," he said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, he works a lot though,I live here with him and never really see him. But it's fine with me. I really love the guy." she informed as she finally found her wallet. "Ah ha!" she said. She opened up her wallet took out a twenty and a five. She put her wallet back in her bag and stood up. She handed Luke the money and he smiled at her.

"So that's the reason why I haven't heard from you in months." he said.

Amber pursed her lips together, realizing she hadn't talked to him since she met Spencer. "Yeah, sorry about that."

Luke put his hand up, "It's alright." he said as he took the money from her. The front door opened, it was Spencer.

Amber lit up. "Hey Spence." She said as she walked over to him. Spencer leaned down and kissed her on the lips.

"Who's this?" he asked once their lips parted He looked the man up and down. He was noticeably more physically fit than he was. Big muscles, and had little body fat. His teeth were as white as snow,they were perfectly straight. His hair was short, he was trimmed and polished. No blemishes, freckles or moles of any kind on his face. Spencer immediately felt intimidated by this man.

"This is Luke," Amber said, gesturing to the man. "I've known him for a while. He was delivering the pizza and we were catching up."

"Ah," Spencer said as he nodded. He held out a hand for Luke to shake. Luke's eyes narrowed for a moment, then he shook Spencer's outstretched hand. "I'm Spencer," he said.

"Nice to meet you," Luke said, flashing his pearly white smile. Their handshake ended and there was an uncomfortable silence in the room. "Well," Luke announced. "I better get going." Spencer and Amber moved away from the front door. Luke walked over to the door and before shutting the door behind him said, "And Amber, pick up the phone once in awhile and give me a call."

"Will do," Amber promised with a smile. Luke gave her a small nod, he walked out of the apartment, the door shutting behind him. Amber sighed, it felt as if weights had been lifted off her shoulders.

"Please tell me he wasn't the surprise," Spencer inquired as he set down his messenger bag next to the couch.

Amber laughed, "No." She said as she walked to the kitchen door. She quickly went into the kitchen, grabbed two plates,and Spencer appeared from the other side of the door. He grabbed two glasses for wine, and the wine bottle. They walked back into the living room, sat down on the couch and opened up the cardboard box. The smell of the pizza was intoxicating, their stomachs growled, making them realize how hungry they both were. They both grabbed a few pieces and set them on their plates. Spencer popped open the bottle of wine and poured them both a glass.

"So," Spencer started as he filled a glass. The wine glugged as he poured it into the glass. "What are we celebrating?"

"We are celebrating a few things," Amber explained as Spencer handed her a glass.

Spencer held out his glass, waiting to hear the news. "one, our relationship. And two...I got a ninety-one on my Psychology final."

Spencer's face lit up, "Wow Amber! That's great," he exclaimed as they clinked glasses. They then both took a sip from their glasses and set them down. He leaned over and gave her a long kiss on the mouth. They pulled apart and Amber's face turned bright red, from her remembering their mini make out from that morning.

"Yeah," Amber smiled as she tucked her hair behind her ear. She then grabbed a plate, opened the box of pizza and took a slice. Spencer did the same. They were quiet for a while, busy chewing on their dinner. "We should have your team over for dinner."

Spencer almost choked on his bite of pizza. He took a sip of some wine, pounded a fist on his chest to make the food go down,swallowed his food and he cleared his throat. "I...uh...I think that would be great."

Amber narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend. "Really?" she questioned.

Spencer pursed his lips, "Yeah, sure." he answered slowly.

"I just want to get to know them better," Amber confessed.

"Okay, we can have them over when we get back from Texas."

Amber took in a deep breath, then exhaled. "I better learn how to cook then..." she trailed off. Realizing what she had gotten herself into. Amber grabbed her glass of wine and took a sip.

Spencer lightly chuckled. "We could order out," Spencer offered.

Amber bit her lip thoughtfully and narrowed her eyes, trying to weigh her options."Yeah, that would be better, for everyone," Amber responded, her body leaning in towards Spencer. She smiled at him, he looked so handsome that night, but then he always did. Amber took another sip of wine, she could feel the affect of the alcohol in the wine getting to her.

"Did you know, archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest known production of wine, made by fermenting grapes, took place from the late Neolithic or early Chalcolithic, possibly as early as the sixth millennium BC, between the Caucasus and the Middle East, the spread of wine culture westwards was most probably due to the Phoenicians who were centered on the coastal strip of today's Lebanon – itself one of the world's oldest sites of wine production." Spencer revealed, as he took a small sip of wine then set down his glass. Spencer watched his girlfriend as she smiled at him.

"I did not know that," Amber whispered, still smiling at him. Spencer smiled back at her and he slowly leaned in closer her. Her scent was so powerful, it was almost overwhelming. They Their lips met, fitting together perfectly like two pieces to a puzzle.

* * *

Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life.-Richard Bach

* * *

E/N- I took way too long on this chapter. I wanted it to be perfect. I finished it a few days ago but I looked it over so many times. I still don't think it's good enough but oh well. I'll end up going nuts if I keep trying to make it perfect. Thanks for the reviews, faves and follows! They mean a lot to me :) So thank you guys!


	14. He's not much of a man

A/n-Sorry this took so very long, I got stuck a few times. Plus my new job has my writing taking a back seat. But I had off today and I was determined to finish! I hope you guys like it and thanks for the reviews from the last chapter! They made me happy!So please enjoy and review!

* * *

The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.-Thomas Merton

* * *

The week had flown by and it was now Thursday. Amber's eyes fluttered open that morning, she looked over next to her, and there was Spencer. He was lying there, wide awake, staring at her and smiling.

Amber smiled back. "Have you been watching me sleep?" she asked.

"Hmmm yeah." he admitted.

Amber laughed as she sat up. She then realized she had her math final that morning and a wave of panic washed over her, causing her to suddenly stop laughing. "I have my math final this morning." She moaned.

She watched Spencer as he sat up. "You will do fine." he said as he placed a hand gently on her back.

Amber bit her bottom lip and shook her head, "No, I won't."

"Yes,you will." Spencer said firmly. Amber sighed as she pushed back the covers of the bed. She swung her legs over the side and stretched her muscles. She stood up from the bed, walked over to the dresser, she opened the drawer and looked through her clothes.

"I don't even know why I bother going, I already know I'm going to fail." she mumbled. Moments later, Amber felt Spencer's arms wrap around her waist. She smiled as she felt him put his chin on her shoulder. She looked over at him, he was looking back at her. She lightly giggled into the palm of her hand. "You're silly." She said as she continued to look for something to wear.

"I know." Spencer responded. He unwrapped his arms from her waist, took his head off her shoulder and stood up straight. He stepped from behind her and stood next to the dresser. "I also know that you will pass."

Amber rolled her eyes at him as she continued to look for something to wear. Spencer sighed at her as he turned around and walked out of the room. Amber finally found something to wear; she decided on a zip up hoodie, capri jeans, and a plain t-shirt. As she got ready, she wondered why Spencer was so confident in her. She knew for a fact she was already failing the class, she hadn't really asked Spencer for help with math because she wanted to do it on her own. She wanted to show him she didn't need him for every little thing. She realized she would let him down, he would be disappointed in her and will probably yell at her or even worse;not say anything at all. But, she knew he was busy with work and didn't want to always bug him, like she was a little kid.

Amber sighed to herself as she slipped on her capris. She had huge knots in her stomach, telling her she should just go back to bed. She grabbed her phone off the bed side table, stuffed it into her bag and slung the strap over her shoulder. She walked out into the living room, Spencer was walking out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand and some book under his arm. He had his glasses on, hair tucked behind his ears and was still wearing his pajamas. He smiled at her before taking a sip of coffee. Amber forced a half smile out at him and sighed. "Bye Spence," she said as she slipped on her shoes that were sitting next to the front door.

"Bye Am," he said as he walked over to her and kissed her head. Spencer stood back as he watched her open the door, she stood in the doorway and waved at him. He waved back at her with his free hand, realizing she looked like she was in pain. Amber closed the door behind her, walked down the stairs, out the building door and headed towards the university.

Spencer stood on the other side of the door of their apartment, hoping she wouldn't come barging back in and admitting that she gave up. He felt as though he had been standing there for hours, when in fact, it had only been five minutes. Spencer took a sip of his coffee and headed into the bedroom to get ready for work.

* * *

Spencer arrived at the BAU that morning, the bullpen was a little busy, with people hustling and bustling around. Spencer walked over to his desk, sat down his messenger bag on the floor and sat down in his chair. He watched the main doors as Derek Morgan walked into the bullpen, looking confident and happy.

Morgan walked over to him and smiled, "Morning lover boy," he teased.

"Morning," he mumbled.

Morgan knew right away that something was wrong. "What's wrong with you?" he questioned.

Spencer sighed as he watched Morgan sit on the edge of his desk. "In the beginning of the week, I asked Hotch if I could take some time off... he doesn't think that Amber and I will last that long. He also kept telling me to just 'be careful.' And I know how he is, he just doesn't want what happened to him and Haley to happen to Amber and I." Spencer said in a hushed tone,he looked around, trying to make sure Hotch didn't walk up behind them.

"Did he end up letting you take time off?"

Spencer nodded. "Of course, but I just think that he doesn't want me to be happy. He keeps treating me like I'm a child."

"Well, he's just trying to make sure you don't end up getting hurt. Hotch knows you're grown man, but he also knows we are a family. He's just looking out for you."

Spencer lightly bit his bottom lip. Morgan was right, for once. Yeah, Hotch was being a bit of a pain, but it was in his best intentions. Spencer knew Hotch just wanted him to be happy, and he was glad he was looking out for him. He just wished Hotch would lay off a bit and let him find things about relationships, whatever they may be, by himself.

* * *

Amber unlocked the apartment door and stepped inside. She loudly sighed as she threw the keys in the dish on the table near the door. She slammed the door shut, plopped down on the couch, and sighed. She had looked up her final math grade during her break at work, she had gotten an F. She knew Spencer was going to be so disappointed in her. Amber leaned over the side of the couch to the side table and flipped off the light. The room became dark, except for the street lights from outside shining through the window.

Amber sat on the couch, letting the weight of her body sink into it. She was trying to think of a way to tell Spencer about her failing her Algebra class. She wanted to just kick her self for waiting so long to take her math credits. Amber checked her phone that was tightly clenched in her hand, she didn't realize she had been sitting there for so long, almost two hours. It was already eleven, Amber rolled her eyes at her phone, knowing that they had to be on a plane in less than five hours to go to Texas, and Spencer wasn't home from work yet. They had already packed everything, incase Spencer got a case earlier in the week, so they wouldn't have to pack at the last minute and be rushing around. Moments later, Amber heard keys outside the front door. The door opened and there was Spencer, trying to sneak in the apartment. The lights were off and he didn't see Amber sitting on the couch.

"Nice of you to show up," Amber said.

Spencer jumped, putting a hand on his chest and trying to calm down from the mini heart attack he just had. "I'm sorry," Spencer apologized as he shut the door,locked it and flipped on the lights. "I had to do a bunch of paperwork to get three days off. Hotch sprung them on me at the last minute." he placed his bag down and walked over to her. She had no expression on her face, she looked like she was off in another world somewhere. "What's wrong?" Spencer asked as he sat down on the couch next to her.

Amber stayed quiet, she didn't move for a moment. She quickly licked her lips and spat out, "I failed my algebra class." She was expecting for him to start yelling, but he stood up off the couch. He grabbed her hand,started lightly yanking on her arm,telling her to get up off the couch, she stood up, and Spencer pulled her into a hug. A wave of relief washed over Amber. "you...you aren't mad?" Amber mumbled into Spencer's shirt.

Spencer pulled away from her,placing his hands gently on her shoulders. "I'm just glad you did the best you could do," he said with a smile.

"And you don't think I'm stupid?" She asked as she looked away from him.

"No, I do not," he replied as he used his hand to lightly grip her chin for her to turn her head back at his hand off her chin, Amber looked into his eyes and it broke his heart, she looked like a lost puppy. "I'm just glad you tried and didn't give up."

Amber finally smiled at him, her perfectly straight and white teeth flashing at Spencer, causing him to smile as well. "Thanks Spence,"

Spencer tilted his head at her. "For what?"

Amber got up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips. His face instantly turned red. They pulled apart from their kiss, Amber placed her heels back down on the ground and said,"For believing in me. Even though I failed, I still tried right?"

Spencer nodded in agreement to her. "Right."

"And I can just try again and try even harder in the fall." She said.

"Yes, many college students do that and many pass the second time. It just takes some

time to get used to the way math works. But this next time, ask me for help more. I know you asked me a few times, but ask more. I can help,you know."

"I know," she mumbled as she looked down at her feet. "I just didn't want to keep bugging you, I know you're busy with work."

"Hey," he said as he brushed back her hair. She looked up at him, realizing she never got tired of looking at his adorable face. "I am never too busy for you."

Amber grinned at him, she knew she was the luckiest girl to have a great guy like him., "I love you."

"I love you too." Spencer assured.

Amber yawn and stretched. "It's getting late, we better go to bed."

"Yeah." Spencer said. Amber headed into the bedroom, as for Spencer, he walked over to the light switch and turned off the headed into the bedroom, shut the door behind him and the two of them got ready to go to sleep. Spencer realized he would be meeting Amber's parents in less than 12 hours. Yeah he was a profiler, but profiling parents of the woman he loved, that would be another story.

* * *

The plane ride the next day wasn't too bad, Amber had never really flown with anyone else before, besides her parents when she was younger. And flying on the BAU jet was not even close to the same thing as the commercial plane. It was usually a headache. But Spencer had gotten them one way tickets, in first class, so it was the second nicest plane trip she had been on. Her ride in the jet taking first place, no one kicking your seat, or rude flight attendants. No waiting to get off the plane, no one yelling or screaming and no one was cramped or uncomfortable. It was heaven.

"Amber!" They both heard as they walked out of the airport. A somewhat weighty woman, with light brown hair, fair skin and bright blue eyes was waving at them excitedly. Standing next to her was a slightly taller man, with dark lebanese skin, black and grey hair around his head (but not on top of it) and a mean look on his face. Spencer gulped, he wanted to run back inside and hop on the next plane back home. But he drew in a deep breath and exhaled.

Amber lit up, "Hey mom! Hey dad!" She said as she walked over to them. She quickly hugged each of them, Spencer decided it would be a good time to walk over to them. He walked over and smiled at them.

"Is this him?" Her mother asked, eyes wide. Amber nodded happily. Amber's mother beamed at him, while her father continued to glare at him.

"Hello Mrs..."

"Call me Kim," She said cutting him off. "I insist."

Spencer smiled at her, "Kim, nice to meet you." He said as he held out a hand for her to shake, instead she opened her arms to him. He went with it and gave her a hug. They unwrapped their arms after a few moments and pulled apart from each other. Kim smiled at him, her warm smiled reminded him of his own mother.

Kim nudged Amber's father in the elbow. He cleared his throat and said, "Call me Ed," He grumbled. He held out a hand to shake, Spencer shook it, making the handshake firm and quick. They dropped the handshake, Ed still glaring at the young man.

"Well we better get going," Kim said as she walked towards their car,Kim got in the passenger side and Ed got in the drivers side. It was a silver 2006 C230 Mercedes-Benz. It was kept in great condition for being a few years old. Amber walked over to the car and placed her bag in the tunk, Spencer did so as well. He shut the trunk and opened the back passenger side door for her. She thanked him and got in the car. Spencer got into the car, shutting the door once he got in, and the both of them buckled their seat belts. Ed put the car in drive,they left the airport,and headed to the highway to go home.

"So," Ed asked, not taking his eyes off the road. "You are in the FBI?"

Spencer nodded. "Yes, I'm in the BAU. The behavioural analysis unit."

"Oh, what's that?" Kim asked.

"We profile criminals. Instead of just going and catching them, we get into their minds to figure what they will do next. We analyze what they do and why they do it. So that we can catch them." Spencer explained.

"Wow," Kim said. Spencer saw her blink a few times. "That works?"

"Yup,by watching the way they have killed before, what their signature is and how they kill. My team and I can catch them the right way before they end up killing people that are in their way."

They sat in silence for a while. Spencer's words still hanging in the air.

"So you are away a lot," Kim questioned, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yes,the job is very...demanding of my time." Spencer said. The guilt hit him like a slap in the face, he did leave Amber alone, sometimes for days. He did always call her, every night before he went to bed, and the second we woke up in the morning.

"If you are never there, how can you two have a relationship?" Kim asked.

"Mom," Amber warned, her eyes narrowed at her mother, even though Kim couldn't see her.

Spencer reached over for Amber's hand and took it in his. He then said, "Well, even though I'm not always around, I still remind your daughter everyday that I'm thinking about her. And that I love her."

Amber's face turned bright red. "Spence," She whispered in embarrassment.

"It's ok honey," Her mother said. "It's good that he cares about you." Amber's dad tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Spencer noticed he was tense, a bit angry and rather over protective of Amber. This wasn't going to be the easiest thing to do, to prove that he was good enough to date Ed's daughter. This was probably why Amber never really dated, because of her father, always thinking every guy she dated wasn't good enough for his daughter.

The car pulled up into a house with acres of land. The house was rather quite big, there was a barn a few feet away from the house and a white picket fence that separated their land from their neighbors. Ed parked the car, they piled out and Spencer and Amber grabbed their bags from the trunk. Spencer watched Amber as she looked at the house. By the look of her awestruck face, he guessed this was her first time seeing her parents new home.

Kim opened the door for them, they stepped inside and they looked around the house. It was just as beautiful as the outside. Marble floors welcomed people in the foyer, an off white paint on the walls and high ceilings in every room. Paintings, mirrors on the walls and little sculptures on tables were scattered all through the house, in a tasteful fashion.

"We have 5 bedrooms," Kim informed them as they headed down a hallway. "Here is your room Am," her mom said as she opened the door. The room was all white; white bedding, white walls and white furniture. The floors where hardwood, but white rugs were scattered around the room as needed. "Amber, you get settled, I'll show Spencer his room."

"Great," Amber said through tightly closed teeth and a fake smile. She walked into the room and shut the door. The bed was in the middle of the room, the headboard against the wall to her left, she walked over to the bed,facing it, she saw there was a window on her right side. The white curtains fluttering in the wind. Amber looked out the window. She could see all of their land from her window, it must have been at least 30 acres of land, if not more. The horses were out of the barn, galloping around the land and this caused a smiled to appear across Amber's face. Her mother always wanted horses and her mother always got what she wanted, one way or another.

Amber set down her bag on the floor as she drew her eyes away from the view outside, she saw a door that was almost next to the bed and opened it. It was a bathroom. Growing up, she had to use the bathroom across her bedroom, which was rather inconvenient for a teenaged girl. Amber closed the door to the bathroom and walked over to the window, she shut the blinds and walked over to the closet that was across from the end of the bed. It was nothing special, just a regular closest. She looked around the room, she had this feeling that something was missing. She shook her head, realizing it wasn't something, but someone missing. Why her parents made Spencer sleep in a separate room was beyond her. Her parents knew she lived with him. Amber shrugged, she assumed it was because her parents didn't want the two of them to be doing nightly activities. Amber lightly chuckled at this as she walked over to her bag and grabbed some weather appropriate clothes out of her bag to change into.

As for Spencer, in the next room over, he decided to take a shower in the bathroom that was connected to his room. Kim had told him that they were going to have a big meal for dinner and to get washed up if he needed. As for Amber back in her room, she quickly changed into shorts and a navy blue tank top. She looked in the bathroom mirror and quickly fixed her hair. She pushed her glasses up farther on the bridge of her nose with her index finger and sighed, trying to convince herself she was content with the way she looked. She shut off the lights in the bathroom and headed out of her room. She walked back into the hallway and made her way into the kitchen. The countertops were grainite, the floor was tiled and the walls where a canary yellow.

"There you are dear," her mother said as she cooked dinner.

"How are you liking the new house?" her father asked as he leaned against a countertop, proud of their new house.

"I like it, its nothing like our old house, but I like it." Amber said with an approving head nod.

"That's good."

"Just one thing," Amber said as she crossed her arms over her chest. As she did this Spencer was walking down the hallway, making his way to the kitchen, when he heard Amber talking to her parents. He stopped walking and decided to wait until they finished their conversation.

Her parents looked at each other in confusion. "What's that?" her father asked.

"Why...why won't you let Spencer and I sleep in the same bed together?" Amber asked. Spencer's eye twitched as he awaited the answer.

"You aren't married," her mother answered.

"You guys do know we sleep in the same bed together at home, right?" Amber defended.

"Yes, but this is our home."

Amber huffed, "Don't give me that crap. I'm twenty-one!"

"Yes, but you are a guest in this house. I'm not having my daughter sleeping with some guy we barely know in the same bed as her!" Her father argued.

"He _is _a great guy. He shouldn't have to be put through your test," Amber said.

"My test?" her father asked

"Yes, to prove if he's good enough for me. Because he is. Honestly he's too good for me. I don't even deserve him." Amber confessed.

"Amber," her mother said in a sad, low tone.

"No, it's true,"

"No man will ever be good enough for you," her father admitted. "He will have to prove he's good enough for you." Ed said as he took his weight off of the countertop. " I don't get what you see in him," Ed joked.

Amber glared at her father, "What does that mean?"

"Well, he's not much of a man," Ed snickered. "He's tall and thin. He looks like a girl with that hair of his, to be honest."

Amber's arms were now at her sides, her hands balled up in tightly clenched fists. "Looks aren't everything. And that man is more of a man than you'll ever be. Let's see you try and stare down a barrel of a gun thats pointed at you. Talk your way out of being shot with the person behind the trigger and walk away without a scratch. Then we'll see who the real man is," Her blood was boiling, she didn't realize her father was so ignorant.

Spencer couldn't believe what he had just heard. He knew it was going to be hard to prove to her father that he was right for Amber, but this was hopefully going to make it a lot easier. Amber was testing her father's masculinity. She knew he would never be able to do what Spencer has done, not in a million year, and that would make her father respect Spencer. Sooner or later, her father would realize Spencer was as much of a man as he was. Her father was stubborn, but he would realize it, he was a smart man.

Ed pressed his lips together, "No...I... I don't think I could do that," he admitted as he let out a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, I thought so," Amber spat. "you can't even begin to imagine the things he sees everyday, the memories he has to live with day in and day out and the horror of the cases he deals with. He doesn't let any of that get to him. He is carefree and...hes the sweetest, most admirable man I've ever met," Amber said, trying keep tears from forming in her eyes.

"Amber, I didn't think..." Ed started to say.

"Yeah dad, you didn't think." Amber said, cutting him off. "don't judge him from his looks, he is more than his looks, he is a genius. I personally think he's handsome, but it doesn't matter what I think or what I want,does it dad." She turned on her heels, walked out of the kitchen and headed to the hallway, she turned into the hallway and almost ran into Spencer in her spout of anger. "Spence...hey, did...did you happen to hear any of that?"  
Spencer nodded, his lips pursed together. "Yeah, I...uh...I'm glad I did though."

Amber tilted her head at him. "Why's that?"

"Cause," Spencer said casually as he pulled her into a hug. "it reminded me why I love you so much." Spencer knew that because her father didn't approve of him, Amber cared about him. Any other time her father didn't approve of a man, she would break up with the boy, but this time was different. Amber didn't want to lose Spencer. And the both of them knew, her father was just being protective and that he would approve of Spencer. It would just take some time.

* * *

Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.-Ernest Hemingway


	15. Pretty Boy

A/n- Not sure if Spence finished his degrees when he was twenty-two or what...I know he was working on Philosophy (while in the BAU) but I looked on a few sites and they didn't say. He joined the BAU at twenty-two so I guess that's when he finished his degrees(not counting Philosophy.) Sorry this took a bit longer than I wanted. I got stuck on a few parts.

* * *

The family you come from isn't as important as the family you're going to have.-**Ring Lardner**

* * *

That night, Amber, Spencer and Amber's parents sat down for dinner. They sat in silence, the awkward tension hung above them.

"So, Spencer," Amber's mom finally said. "where did you go to school?"

"MIT and Cal-tech," Spencer informed as he took a sip of water.

"Really? Wow," Kim said, impressed.

"I have PhDs in mathematics,chemistry and engineering. And BAs in psychology and sociology."

Amber's mother and father stared at him, their mouths gaped. "Uh...wow. That's a lot of schooling. When did you finish all of that?"

"When I was Twenty-two, I'm twenty-six now." Spencer said, then put a fork full of homemade meat loaf in his mouth, chewing slowly.

"How old were you when you finished high school?" Ed asked. Amber was shocked by her father's sudden interest in Spencer, but she tried not to show it.

"Twelve," Spencer responded as some of his hair fell in front of his beautiful brown eyes. He quickly tucked the fallen hair behind his ear,took a sip of water and looked around the room as he did so, hoping no one noticed. But Amber noticed and it made her smile to herself. She had never seen Spencer so nervous,so flustered and it was adorable on him.

"Wow, that is very impressive," Ed said. "You must be very smart,"

"He has an I.Q of 187 and has an eidetic memory," Amber informed.

"So you really are a genius." Kim said.

Spencer nodded," Yes,"

"I hope you rub off on Amber," Kim joked.

"Yeah, maybe since now she's with you she will get better grades and help you around your apartment." Ed laughed.

Spencer had a confused look on his face,"What do you mean?"

"She used to be so lazy when she lived with us," Amber's mother said. "She never helped us around the house, always just stayed on her laptop or watched T.V." Amber was staring down at her plate, her parents were really testing her.

"She always helps me around the apartment, it's always spotless when I come home," Spencer defended.

"She must just throw everything in a closet," Kim laughed, acting as if her daughter was not in the same room.

"Or hide empty bowls in her room," Ed mumbled.

"That's right, I almost forgot she did that."

"Yeah, because I was ashamed to eat!" Amber blurted out. Her face turned red, she panicked, not sure what to do next. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "look, can we just drop it? It was a long time ago, I don't live with you guys anymore and I don't do any of those things anymore."

"Fine," Her mother said.

Spencer shifted awkwardly in his seat. "Did you know 'Kafa' or 'Kofta' is the Lebanese version of meatloaf. It is usually beef or lamb mixed with onions, parsley, and various spices flattened into a square loaf and covered in either tomato sauce or tahini sauce. It is baked with the sauces and enjoyed with rice and potatoes." Spencer said quickly. Ed and Kim gaped at him again. Spencer's eyes darted between the two of them. "I thought we were changing the subject..."

"We are..." Kim trailed off. She straightened up her seat and beamed at Spencer. "I did not know that." She said as she flattened out the tablecloth near her plate.

"I did," Ed grumbled.

Amber rolled her eyes, then stood up from her seat, she grabbed her plate and walked into the kitchen, and walked over to the sink. She rinsed off her plate and stuck it in the dishwasher. Amber sighed as she leaned against the sink. She heard a chair squeak against the floor of the dining room and could hear footsteps getting closer to the kitchen. Spencer appeared, holding his dish. Amber slid over, her back never leaving the counter top to make room for him to reach the sink. He did the same as Amber, rinsed off his plate then opened the dishwasher, put his plate in and shut the door to the dishwasher. He leaned against the counter top and looked at his girlfriend.

"I am so glad you came with me, I don't think I would have been able to survive this by myself." Amber said as she moved back over to the sink. She then laid her head on Spencer's shoulder.

"You're parents are quite...interesting."

Amber laughed then said, "Tell me about it. They never let anything go. They are so...anal."

Spencer lightly chuckled. "Yeah, but you don't have to live with them anymore."

"True," she said taking her head off his shoulder. She leaned off of the counter top, stood in front of Spencer and they wrapped their arms around each other. "that's why I just want to be the only girl you love all your life."

Spencer wrapped his arms tighter around her, he could feel his eyes starting to water as he rested his chin on her head. He tried to swallow, pushing out the lump in his throat. He swallowed again and said, "I'd like that...I would be the luckiest man in the whole world."

"Aww," they heard. They pulled apart from each other, Amber turned to see her mother standing there. She was tearing up, Amber expected this, since her mother was a very emotional woman. She clapped her hands together in joy. "you two are so cute," she rejoiced as she walked over to them.

"Mom, how long were you standing there for?" Amber asked.

Her mother pondered this for a moment then said, "Since Spencer said that you didn't...you didn't have to live with us anymore," Her mother paused, she shook it off then, turned to Spencer and said, "anyways, I...I really wish Ed would see how great you are Spencer,"

Spencer lightly blushed. "I'm not that great,"

"Don't be modest!" Amber's mother said. She beamed at the two of them, with happiness and pride. "I have a feeling you two are going to be together for a long time."

"Mom," Amber moaned. "We have only been together for like 3 months,"

Amber's mother put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I dated your father for six months before we got married, and look at us. We have been married almost thirty-three years." Amber's mom took her hand off of her daughter's shoulder. She looked over at Spencer, his eyes were wide, he looked like he was about to be sick.. "Are you okay?"

Spencer took a moment to answer," Yeah...I just...wow...six months." His voice cracking from time to time. Amber's mother chuckled at the young man suddenly flustered.

"Don't worry,we won't be getting married anytime soon." Amber assured.

Spencer let out a long breath of relief. It's not that he didn't want to be with Amber forever, he just wasn't ready yet. He wanted to make sure that she would be with for him and be there for him, no matter what. He just started trusting again. It's hard to trust people after you have been hurt, made a fool of or have been tricked. Spencer looked at Amber, she smiled at him and he smiled back. He prayed that she wasn't leading him on, it wasn't that he didn't trust her, but this was just the beginning of their new found love. And new love is always fun and scary at the same time. It's about learning about someone, getting to know them, and getting to know who they are. Many people fake who they are when they are first with someone, or they are just attracted to each other because of 's why many relationships fail, there has to be something more there, there has to be that spark. Spencer knew in his heart that this was more than just looks. He knew he wasn't that great looking, but Amber was like a fresh breeze in the early morning on a summer day.

There was something about her, he couldn't quite figure it out yet. He loved that she was so innocent, sweet and just a great person in general. He loved coming home from long days at work to see her bright, sweet face to welcome him home. He knew that in the long run, he would love marrying Amber but that won't be for a while.

"Well," Amber said as she gave Spencer a hug, then hugged her mom. "I'm going to turn in," Spencer quickly looked at his watch and realized it was already almost ten-thirty.

"Yeah, I better get to bed as well." Spencer yawned. Spencer said goodnight to Kim and the two of them headed to their bedrooms.

* * *

"How did you sleep last night?" Kim asked Amber as she walked into the kitchen the next morning to pour herself some coffee.

Amber glared at her mother, "I would have slept better if Spencer was in the same bed." She said then smiled. Amber walked over to the coffee pot and took a cup from the cup rack. She poured herself some coffee, she walked over to the fridge and grabbed some creamer. She poured in some creamer and took a spoon out of the drawer to stir in the creamer. She took a quick sip and grabbed another cup off the rack. She poured the coffee in the cup, grabbed a packet of sugar, ripped of the top of the packet and poured the sugar in the coffee. She stirred with the spoon that she had used for her own cup. She set the spoon in the sink, grabbed the cups by their handles and walked over to the kitchen table. She set down her cup in front of her and the other cup next to her. Just on time, there was Spencer, walking into the kitchen.

He had a big smile on his face that morning, "Good Morning," he greeted as he walked over to the table, gave Amber a kiss on the cheek and sat down in a chair. He took a sip of his coffee and set the cup down.

"How did you sleep last night Spencer?" Kim asked as she started making breakfast.

"Pretty well," he admitted. "It was kind of hard to sleep without Amber next to me, it always is." he took a sip of his coffee and smacked his lips together. "Thanks for pouring my coffee Am."

"You're welcome pretty boy," she teased. Spencer rolled his eyes at her, causing her to giggle.

Amber's mom raised an eyebrow. "Pretty boy?" she questioned her daughters nickname.

"Have you been talking to Morgan?" Spencer asked as his eyes narrowed at his girlfriend.

"Maybe," she giggled. "I've been texting him and Garcia."

"I emailed Rossi,I told him to talk to his publicist about getting some of your work published." Spencer said. "they are probably going to want to see some of your work."

Amber had a huge smile on her face,"I hope they get back to me soon," she said as she took her phone out of her pocket and she started typing away.

"Now what are you doing?" Spencer asked.

"Nothing," she said with a smirk on her face. Spencer sighed and took a sip of his coffee. He watched Amber quickly type away on her phone. She hit send and set her phone down on the table. "If you must know, I was texting Morgan, asking him for Rossi's number."

"I could have given you his email."

"I know," Amber said, she took a sip of her coffee then set down her cup. "But, I think it's better to have their numbers, just incase something were to happen."

"Good idea,"

"I know," she said with a smirk as her phone lit up. She quickly texted the person back and began another text.

To: Agt Rossi

Time: 8:05 am

Hey Rossi, Morgan gave me your number and I know Reid emailed you but i figured this was faster.

Amber hit send and set her phone down. There was now loud footsteps coming down the hall, Amber knew that was her father. He always had to be loud when he walked, so everyone knew he was dominant and was a warning to everyone in the house that he was coming. Amber's father entered the room and grimaced at Spencer. Spencer quickly looked down at the table, he felt like he was back in high school, being bullied by the older kids.

"Morning," he grumbled.

"Morning dear," Amber's mom said as she continued to make breakfast. Ed grabbed the cup that was sitting on the counter for him, his wife always brought him coffee in the morning, except today because of Amber and Spencer. Amber assumed that was why he was cranky. Ed took a seat across from his daughter, Spencer was in the middle of them at the head of the table. He sat up and shifted in his seat.

"Amber tells me that you were an electrical engineer," Spencer said.

Ed took a sip of coffee and nodded. He set down his cup and sat back against his chair. "That's correct,"

"And that you were majoring in physics but changed after your last semester."

"Yes,"

"Why is that?" Spencer asked as he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose with his index finger.

Ed's eyes narrowed at him, trying to see if the young man was tricking him into revealing something about himself. " It was the late seventies, I didn't think physics would give my future family a stable source of income."

"I was mostly taking my prerequisites," Kim interjected. "I still wasn't sure what I wanted to be..." She told Spencer as she walked over to the table and set down two plate full of pancakes in front of Ed and Spencer.

Kim walked back over to the counter and picked up a plate of pancakes for Amber and set them down in front of her, as she did so, Amber's phone lit up. "Who could you be texting? Your boyfriend is sitting right next to you."

"I do have friends you know mom," she said as she picked up her phone and read the text message.

From: Agt. Rossi

Time:8:15 am

This way is fine, I told my publicist about you and she would like to have you send her some of her work. I'll send you her email later.

To: Agt. Rossi

Time:8:15 am

That's great! And alright, thanks Rossi.

Amber hit the send button and started eating her breakfast. She noticed her father and Spencer had started talking, about engineering and physics, which was probably why she just realized that they were talking. She could listen to Spencer talk about anything for days, but her father...let's just say he thought he knew everything, but he didn't. Kim walked back over to the table after getting herself a plate of pancakes off of the kitchen counter. She sat down next to her daughter and raised an eyebrow. "I'm shocked," Kim whispered to her daughter. "he's actually getting along with a human being,"

Amber giggled, "I know, it's so odd."

"I knew they would eventually get along,"

Amber nodded. "And it didn't even take that long to do so. Spencer is very good at knowing how to talk to people." she said then continued to eat her breakfast. Her phone lit up again and she picked it up to see whom had texted her.

From:Agt. Rossi

Time: 8:18 am

How's Reid doing meeting your folks?

To: Agt. Rossi

Time:8:19 am

It wasn't too great at first but now it's better.

Amber hit send and set down her phone. She continued to eat as she happily watched her dad and boyfriend chatting about engineering.

After they finished breakfast and helped clean up the kitchen a bit, Spencer and Amber went out to the barn to see the horses. "So," Amber said as they headed towards the barn. "my dad and you seem to be getting along better."

"Yeah," Spencer smiled. "I think he just has to get used to me, once we talk more he should be more comfortable with the idea of us dating."

"It will just take some time,"

"Yes." Spencer agreed as they stopped at the fence. Amber opened the gate and the horses galloped over to her.

"Do you want to ride?" Amber asked.  
Spencer's eyes got big and bug eyed. "Ride what?" he stammered.

"A horse," she responded.

Spencer's face turned bright red, he could feel himself starting to sweat. Damn Garcia and Morgan for their sexual innuendos towards each other, they were starting to mess with him."Uh, alright. I've never rode a horse before."

"It's alright," Amber said as she walked towards the immediately regretted his decision. He couldn't even play baseball, how was he suppose to ride a horse? Moments later, she came back carrying a saddle and bridle. "I'll teach you." She smirked.

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A horse is dangerous at both ends and uncomfortable in the middle.-**Ian Fleming**

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A/N- Thanks for all the great Reviews! They keep me motivated :) Next chapter will be up soon! It will show some more of Spencer and Amber bonding and getting closer...but that's all I'll tell about it! Thanks for the reviews, follows,and faves!


	16. I'll be here to listen

**Warning, there is talk of eating disorders and drug use in this chapter.**

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You are always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past.-Richard Bach

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Once Amber got the horse ready for the ride, she told Spencer to mount Bronko, the bigger of the two horses her parents owned. He was a rather huge horse, his coat and mane where black, and he was a little mean looking. Spencer gulped as the horse walked over to him. The horse snorted at him and then didn't acknowledge his presence. Amber walked over to Spencer and handed him a pair of cowboy boots.

Spencer raised an eyebrow at her, "You want me to wear these?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer.

She nodded at him. "You have to, it's easier."

Spencer sighed as he slipped off his Converse shoes and slipped on the cowboy boots. While he did that, Amber grabbed Bronko's rein and brought him over to Spencer. "Put your one foot in the sturup, his head is going in the direction of your left so use your left foot. Put some weight on your left foot when you go to mount him, so you aren't putting all of your weight on your right foot. Then push off the ground with your right foot, grab the right side next to the pommel and quickly swing your right leg over."

"Pommel?" Spencer questioned, it was weird to him, not knowing about something.

"This part," she said as she pointed to the raised part in the front of the saddle. "Reach to the far right, having your forearm reach across the seat. Make sure, before you mount, that he is standing square, so his legs aren't far apart. If they are and you get on he will take a step the moment you put weight on him." Amber looked at Bronco's legs, his legs were already sqaure.

Spencer hesitated for a moment, he wasn't much of an outdoors man. But he had this feeling nagging at him, that he needed to try new things. He did what Amber had instructed, he slid his left foot in the stirrup, he grabbed the pummel, getting a firm grip on it. He then put some weight on his left foot, he pushed off the ground with his right foot, swung his leg over and quickly put his foot in the stirrup.

Spencer's face lit up as soon as he realized he was on the saddle. "Yes, I did it." He said as he looked down at Amber.

She smiled up at him, "Alright now get down."

Spencer stared at her, a blank expression on his face. "What? Why?"

"You have to learn how to ride, you can't just jump on a horse and ride it. It takes time and practice."

"Well, okay, can't you just teach me?" Spencer said as he shifted his weight on the saddle.

"Alright, I'll lead the horse. I want to lead anyways, I know of a little place we can go," Amber smiled. Amber walked into the barn and returned moments later. She walked over to Bronko and clipped the leading rope onto the center ring of the made a clicking noise with her mouth, and the horse started to move. She lead the house out from behind the fence through the open gate. She lead them to the dirt road, clouds of dirt appearing from under Amber's feet and the horse's hooves. Spencer held on to the reins and was just trying to get used to the motion. He felt like he was going to slide off the saddle any second, so he adjusted his posture and looked up. He watched as Amber led the horse, she was next to the horse, and was about 3 feet away from it. He watched as she kept her face forward and her expression somewhat blank.

It seemed as though they had been walking for hours, Spencer was getting sore, and was wondering where Amber was taking him. He knew he shouldn't really care. It was a beautiful day out, not too dry, not too warm. They were walking down a dirt road, a few farms with horses and cattle where the scenery as they walked down the dirt road. It started to get hot, the sun was beating down on them, it felt as though it had gotten hot instantly. Spencer realized that before there were a bunch of trees hovering over the pathway before seeing a bunch of cute little farms. As they walked on, Spencer started to sweat, he wasn't really fond of sweating. It was gross but it made him feel human. Spencer was now starting to get anxious.

"Are we almost there?" He questioned.

Amber looked over her shoulder and smiled, "Almost." She turned her head back to face the path. Spencer pouted to himself, his bottom was starting to get sore. They walked a bit longer and another pathway of trees hovering over the pathway greeted them. Spencer exhaled, he could finally breathe. "Close your eyes," Amber said without looking back at him.  
"Why?" He asked slowly.

"You'll see when you open them."

He sighed to himself and closed his eyes. He felt the horse take about twenty more steps before the horse stopped. "Can I open them now?" He quietly asked.

"Yes," Amber sang.

Spencer opened his eyes,a path of trees lead to a little hide away, a secret spot. Bright green grass cover the ground,with a beautiful lake next to it. On the other side of the lake was more lush green grass. A huge tree was next to the lake, it was sitting right next to the lake, making a perfect place to lay under and watch the were scattered across the open area, keeping most of the grass shaded. Spencer took his right foot out of the stirrup and got off the horse the same way he got on, slowly. Once his feet hit the floor, a rush of excitement flooded over him. He followed the lake, about a minute later, came to the end of the lake, but what he found was even more beautiful. The lake lead to a cliff, a cliff that lead to an even bigger lake. The view was breathtaking,the water was so pure looking. Birds were chirping, the sky was a bright blue and it was...peaceful. Spencer walked back to where Amber was. He walked back over to her as he watched her take off Bronko's saddle.

"This place is...quite beautiful," He admitted.

Amber smiled at him as she gently took the saddle off the horse. "I was just here last night,"

Spencer's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Last night?"

Amber set the saddle down in a safe place, she straightened up and turned to him. "I was mad after that dinner with my parent's and I sort of snuck out of the house. I grabbed Bronko here and took off. I've been here before,the first time was when my parent's were looking at the house, back when I was about 18. I had lived here with them for a few months. I visited this spot many times, to think of what I wanted to do, and where I wanted to go. After a few months I decided to move to D.C," Amber lightly laughed at herself, " I almost didn't even recognize the house when we arrived, they've really fixed it up since I the last time I was here."

"What made you want to move to D.C?" Spencer asked as he walked closer to her.

Amber thought for a moment and answered, "I had been to D.C twice before, once for a middle school trip and another time for a three day vacation with my parents. I remember the cherry blossoms, how beautiful they were. I just love people watching in the cafe next to the bookstore. It's refreshing how cheerful most people there are."

Spencer watched her as she walked over to him. She smiled up at him, Spencer smiled back, but his smile quickly faded. "Last night, you said that you were ashamed to eat when you were younger," Spencer saw Amber roll her eyes as she turned to face the lake. "you hid food, you have controlling parents...if you don't mind me saying, I believe you had an eating disorder."

Amber's head whipped to her left to look at him. "How...is it that obvious?" she asked.

"You were a teenager, had parents that tried to control your every move. Nit picked at everything you did. I can tell that because they still do it to you now. You feel like you will ever make them proud of you,"

Amber turned her body towards him. She sighed and said, "You are correct, as always," she said with a soft smile. She looked down at her feet, embarrassed that he finally figured it out.

"I'm proud of you." Spencer said.

Amber looked back up, "You are?" she questioned.

Spencer nodded. "I know it's hard to break an addiction,I know an eating disorder isn't by choice, no addiction is. But it becomes additive to most people, it's a way to cope. Bulimics use it to release pain, anorexics use it for control. But they both get a form of a high from it..."

"How would you know about addiction?" Amber said, cutting him off from his ramble.

Spencer avoided eye contact with her. "I know,because I was addicted to dilaudid." Spencer looked right at her, to see what her reaction would be.

Amber's expression went from blank to sad in seconds. Her eyes were starting to water, she looked up at the sky. "Tell me," she said to the sky,she blinked a few times, trying to rid her eyes of possible tears. She looked over at him and said, " everything,"

They sat under the tree next to the lake. Spencer sat, his legs crossed like he was a little kid waiting for story time at school. Spencer told her everything. About how Tobias had drugged and tortured him. And how he ended up becoming addicted to it. Amber listened to his every word. She sat on the ground, her knees up against her chest and her arms locked around her legs. Spencer ended up spilling out his past; how his mother was a paranoid schizophrenic, how his father left his mother and him, how Gideon had left the same way his father did, and how he had never had a real girlfriend before. He spent what felt like hours, pouring out most of his heart to her.

"Wow," Amber said as she inhaled a deep breath. "I...would have never..." she trailed off, trying to figure out the best way to word it. She looked away from Spencer, she watched Bronko as he walked around the area, trying to find from grass to eat. "I did have an eating disorder..." Amber trailed off once again, still watching the horse.

"Don't feel obligated to tell me about your past. Just because I figured out some of it doesn't mean you have to tell me," Spencer said, Amber was now watching him and not the horse. "I told you about my past because I wanted you to know now. Since we've been together, I've barely told you anything about me. You can tell me when you are ready and when you are, I'll be here to listen." Amber unlocked her arms, got on her knees, leaned over and kissed Spencer gently on the lips. They pulled apart from their kiss, Spencer tucked some of his hair behind his ear as Amber beamed.

"Well,we better get back, it will be dark soon," Amber said, as her long brown hair fell over her shoulder as she stood up. Spencer looked out into the distance, she was right, it was probably at least eight o'clock from the look of the sun starting to set. Spencer looked at his watch and he was right. She walked over to Bronko, grabbed the saddle, set it down on the horses back and strapped the saddle on him. "Do you want to ride him or walk?" Amber asked as she made sure the saddle was strapped and wasn't too tight or too loose.

"Well, I might as well ride him, I am wearing these cowboy boots after all," Spencer said as he walked over to Amber and Bronko. Amber giggled at Spencer's response, she watched him as he mounted the horse in record time. She clipped the leading rope back onto Bronko and they headed back to her parent's house.

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Once back at Ed and Kim's house, Amber, Bronko and Spencer headed into the barn. Amber came to a halt, causing Bronko to do the same. Spencer dismounted from Bronko and Amber entered Bronko into his stall. She took off his saddle, she clipped a rope to his bridle, to keep him from moving while she brushed him and cleaned his hooves. Spencer stood there, his arms folded over each other as he stood leaning against the door. He watched Amber as she groomed the horse. She was laughing and smiling, her laughter filling the barn. He loved this woman so much, he never thought he could love someone so much. His heart swelled with joy when he looked at her, it took him awhile to get his breath back to normal when he did look at her, and he felt this electricity when they touched. Spencer didn't really care what had happened to her in her past. Well okay, he did, but he only wanted to know so he could make sure that whatever happened,wouldn't happen again.

Later that night, after the two of them got cleaned up, they sat down for dinner with Amber's parents. Her parents asked what they did that day and they told them. Kim thought it was good that they were having a good time in Texas and that they were having some alone time. Ed on the other hand, didn't look like he was all that happy about them 'having some alone time'. He looked as though he was biting a bullet locked between his teeth, his mouth tightly clenched. When dinner was finished, the four of them sat in the living room and chatted while sipping some hot cider. After about an hour, all of them decided to hit the hay.

Amber laid awake that night, she couldn't sleep again. The moon was shining in through her window, Spencer's words were still floating around in her head. _You can tell me when you are ready and when you are, I'll be here to listen. _Would she ever be ready? He told her everything, spilled his heart out. He trusted her, to tell her everything that happened to him over the years, and then know that she wouldn't leave him because of it. He was a great profiler, he knew she wouldn't judge him and he was right.

Just then, there was a quiet knock on her door. Amber laid still, thinking it was just her imagination. There was another knock, this time a bit louder. The doorknob slowly turned and Spencer peeked his head in.

"Am?" He whispered as he opened the door a bit more.

"Yes?" she answered back as she sat up and turned towards the door. The room was quite dark,even with the moon shining in through the window, everything was blurry. Amber fumbled around in the dark for her glasses sitting on the nightstand. She slid them on and could see, nothing was really clear, since it was still dark.

"I couldn't sleep," Spencer admitted as he rubbed his eyes. Amber's heart almost stopped; Spencer was so innocently adorable. "I can't sleep without you next to me," he informed her.

A chill went down Amber's spine, she always wanted to hear a guy say that. She moved over on the bed and patted the spot next to her, inviting Spencer to join her. Spencer slid in under the covers and Amber laid back down. Spencer reached over and slipped off her glasses for her. He turned to his right and set them down on the night stand.

"Thank you," she quietly giggled.

"You are quite welcome," he said as he turned his upper body back towards Amber. He kissed her nose and the two of them lightly laughed.

"Good night," Amber said as she shifted to sleep on her left side. Spencer slipped his right hand over her stomach, his left hand went under his pillow, and then cuddled up to her. Amber traced his knuckled with her fingertips, she let out a happy sigh and closed her eyes causing her to drift off to a peacefully sleep.

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With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.-Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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A/N- The beginning of this was a bit of a pain to write. Writing about how to mount a horse seems easy at first, then I realized that I wanted this to be something Spencer didn't know about. Sorry this took so very long to update. I know where I want to go with this story, I just have to figure out how to get there! So, I'm going to take it a chapter at a time. I am no where near finished with this story, and I am not going to abandon it. I love it too much and I'm very proud of it. I didn't think so many people would respond to it. So thank you all! If I don't update again for awhile, I apologize, school is starting up again soon!I'm only taking 3 classes, so I'll make time to write. Thanks for the faves, reviews, and for reading. And thank you for your patience!


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